Turkey sent military reinforcements to northern Syria

ANKARA, (Patria) - Turkey has sent military reinforcements near the Syrian city of Manbij, controlled by US-backed Kurdish-led forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced.

Turkish news agency IHA also reported that a convoy of Turkish soldiers was sent to Syria overnight, Al Jazeera reports.

Turkey sent reinforcements despite recently announcing that it would postpone the offensive it had promised in eastern Syria, following US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw US forces from the country, AP reports.

However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in the UK, states that reinforcements were sent to the front line with Manbij, a city where US soldiers are stationed.

The Observatory states that 50 vehicles with soldiers and equipment crossed into Syria.

US President Donald Trump recently announced that he would begin withdrawing US forces from Syria. For Ankara, this is a positive decision as it removes the cause of tensions with the US.

Namely, Erdogan had previously criticized his NATO ally over the situation in northeastern Syria, where Washington supported Kurdish YPG fighters.

Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist group and the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which fights for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.

About ten days ago, Erdogan announced plans to launch an operation east of the Euphrates in northern Syria to expel the YPG from the area, which is largely controlled by Kurdish fighters.

Although he announced that the operation could begin at any moment, on Friday he cited the decision to withdraw US units and a phone call with Trump as reasons for the delay.