Tension is mounting around the key Kurdish-held hub of Manbij in northern Syria. Shortly after Damascus announced the deployment of troops in that city, Turkish APCs crossed into Syria and US helicopters were filmed in the air.
Earlier on Friday, Damascus had said that its troops were sent to Manbij, after the Kurdish YPG militias asked for rescue from a looming Turkish military operation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to believe the Syrian statement, brushing it aside as just a “psychological action.”
Later in the day, the Turkish military crossed into Syrian territory at the border town of Jarablus in the province of Aleppo. Footage by RTs Ruptly video agency showed several convoys of Ankaras armored personnel carriers making their way through streets.
In another video two aircraft, believed to be US Army helicopters, are seen patrolling the area.
Manbij again became the hottest spot on the Syrian map after Donald Trump said earlier this month that hell be withdrawing US troops from the areas in Syria held by Washingtons Kurdish allies.
Turkey has long been threatening a military move against the YPG, which it believes to be a terrorist organization and a major threat to national security. Ankara insisted that it needed to act, as the Americans havent been doing enough to address its concerns over the armed Kurdish fighters.
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