Jane Araf
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
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Kurdish-led forces controlling northeastern Syria pulled back on Tuesday from guarding the country's biggest ISIS detention camp, saying they had to defend themselves from approaching Syrian government forces.
To stem a security vacuum that has seen ISIS detainees escaping, the two sides under U.S.
pressure have now agreed to a four-day ceasefire.
That agreement will include transferring control of prisons and camps.
to Syria's predominantly Arab official forces.
The Kurds fought alongside U.S.
troops to defeat ISIS in 2019.
envoy Tom Barak said in a statement that the U.S.
no longer needed the Kurds in that role, and that Syrian government forces could now take over.
The Syrian military said Saturday it planned to push Kurdish forces out of Tabqa military airport.
in northern Syria, calling it a base for a Turkish Kurdish group it calls terrorists.
It's the same accusation leveled by Turkey, which backed Syrian opposition fighters, who later became the backbone of Syrian government forces.
The US fought alongside the Syrian Kurdish forces to defeat ISIS in Syria six years ago.
It has been trying to broker a negotiated settlement between Syrian-led forces and the Syrian government.
It says fighting between Kurdish and government forces will harm joint efforts to fight ISIS.
The Syrian military said Saturday it planned to push Kurdish forces out of Tabqa military airport in northern Syria, calling it a base for a Turkish Kurdish group it calls terrorists.