ANKARA (Sputnik) — The Syrian Kurdish militia has largely withdrawn from the west bank of the Euphrates River, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Omer Celik said on Wednesday.
"Today's reports say that the majority of the Syrian Kurdish self-defense forces have left the west bank of the Euphrates River, however, their withdrawal is incomplete, and that is unacceptable," Celik was quoted as saying by the NTV broadcaster.
On August 24, Ankara announced that Turkish forces, backed by US-led coalition aircraft, had begun a military operation dubbed Euphrates Shield to clear Jarabulus of the Daesh jihadist group, outlawed in Russia. Syrian Kurds and Damascus accused Ankara of violating the territorial integrity of the country.
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Syrian Kurdish militia would become a target for Turkish forces carrying out a military operation in northern Syria unless they move east of the Euphrates.
