• Withdrawal from Syria.Trump says "it's time to get rid of ridiculous endless wars"
  • End to 5 years of alinza. The United States withdraws in Syria to allow a Turkish invasion

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened Turkey on Monday with reprisals if he goes overboard in Syria, after paving the way for a Turkish offensive against Kurdish militias in Syrian territory, fueling fears of a jihadist resurgence in the region.

According to government officials in Washington, the United States withdrew between 50 and 100 "special operators" from the northern border of Syria , where they served as shock absorbers between the Turkish army and Syrian democratic forces led by Kurds, following Trump's surprise announcement prior to a planned operation ordered by Ankara.

On a turbulent day of foreign policy, Trump received criticism from Republicans for abandoning the Kurds , crucial in the long campaign to defeat the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).

Trump seemed to back down, warning Ankara that he would "destroy" the country's economy if they went overboard, without explaining what that meant.

"I told Turkey that if they do something outside of what we would think is human ... they could suffer the wrath of an extremely decimated economy," he said.

But Trump also said he wants to end the presence of US military in the region.

"We want to bring our troops back home from these endless wars and we are like a police force. We are not fighting. We are watching."

A senior government official denied that Trump had given a "green light" to a Turkish invasion in Syria, which posed the threat that thousands of IS fighters, prisoners of the Kurds, could be released in the middle of a new conflict.

"It seems that the Turks are determined to carry out some type of military operation ," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding: "There will be no involvement of the US military."

"Does the US abandon its allies?"

Even Trump's allies accused him of turning his back on the Kurds, who say they lost 11,000 fighters in the battle against IS.

"A precipitous withdrawal of US forces from Syria would only benefit Russia, Iran and the Assad regime," said Senate leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican criticizing Trump.

"And it would increase the risk of the IS and other terrorist groups regrouping."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the operation could "arrive any night without warning," while the Kurds were preparing for the fight.

"The prudent should prepare for war," said Mustefa Bozan, a 79-year-old merchant in Ras al Ain, where a contingent of the United States Special Forces was until Monday morning.

The Kurds lead the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDS), which were essential in the US-led international coalition that defeated the IS.

Turkey considers a terrorist threat to the SDS because it maintains ties with Kurdish militants in its country and promised to crush them. He says he wants to establish a "safe zone" on the Syrian side, where he could return to some of the 3.6 million refugees from the eight-year civil war.

The Kurds argue that Ankara's goal is to dilute their dominance in the region with an influx of mostly Sunni Arab refugees.

Destabilization warnings

Trump's announcement surprised many American officials, who tried to dissuade Ankara.

"The Department of Defense made it clear to Turkey, as did the president, that we do not support a Turkish operation in northern Syria," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said.

The SDS spokesman, Mustefa Bali, said the Washington decision "is about to ruin trust and cooperation between the SDS and the United States."

"As Syrian Democratic Forces, we are determined to defend our land at all costs," the group said.

The threat of a Turkish attack revived the fear that some 10,000 IS fighters - currently held by the SDS - will be released if the SDS soldiers had to fight the Turkish troops.

Nearly 2,000 of them are "foreign fighters," and Trump attacked his allies in Europe for not withdrawing their nationals.

If they escape or are released, they could reconstitute the Islamic State , less than a year after their defeat.

Trump said it would be the responsibility of Turkey and other countries to deal with IS prisoners.

"Turkey, Europe, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Kurds will have to resolve the situation and what they want to do with ISIS fighters captured in their 'neighborhood'," he said, using another acronym for jihadists.

The UN said it was "preparing for the worst," while the European Union warned that civilians would be the most affected.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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