The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Washington's ambassador to Ankara, Jeff Flake, and asked for clarification about the visit of US Chief of Staff Mark Milley to northeastern Syria.

And according to Turkish diplomatic sources, on Monday, that Flick was summoned to the ministry, and asked for an explanation about the surprise visit that the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, made to the region on the fourth of March.

Yesterday, Sunday, the Syrian News Agency said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned an unannounced visit by a senior US military commander to the northeast of the country, describing it as "illegal" and a "flagrant violation" of the country's sovereignty.

On Saturday, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, made a surprise visit to Syria to assess the nearly 8-year-old mission to fight the Islamic State, and to review measures to protect US forces from any attack.

This visit is Milly's first to Syria since he assumed the chairmanship of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2019, but he had previously visited it when he was Chief of Staff of the Army.

Milley's spokesman, Colonel Dave Butler, told AFP that Milley's visit on Saturday to northeastern Syria was aimed at meeting the forces stationed there.

The international coalition against the Islamic State, led by Washington, is the main supporter of what is known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, and its backbone is the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

900 American soldiers are deployed within the coalition forces in the areas controlled by the Kurdish fighters, and they are located in several bases in the province of Hasakah (northeast), Raqqa (north) and Deir ez-Zor (east).