The United States is reportedly building a military base to help its ally the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group, in northern Syria where the terrorists have been cornered by the Türkiye-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
Local journalists said 13 trucks with U.S. flags and carrying concrete construction blocks arrived in the PKK/YPG’s stronghold Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani, early on Thursday morning.
The U.S. military has emptied a base in neighboring Iraq and the concrete blocks and other materials are being shipped to Ain al-Arab for a Syrian base, according to local sources.
Earlier this week, the U.S. military transferred dozens of Bradley armored vehicles to the region and supplied air defense systems and other armored vehicles to the YPG.
At least 24 fighters, mostly from the SNA, were killed in ongoing clashes between the SNA and the PKK/YPG in Manbij, a war monitor said late Thursday.
The violence killed 23 fighters and one member of the YPG-affiliated Manbij Military Council, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist group by the European Union, the U.S. and Türkiye. It is responsible for more than 40,000 deaths in Türkiye, including women and children. It maintains strongholds in northern Iraq and Syria to create a self-styled “Kurdish state.”
The U.S. has dispatched troops along with military equipment and weapons to Syria’s northeast during the Syrian civil war to help the PKK/YPG under the pretext of the fight against Daesh. Ankara says the YPG/PKK is on par with Daesh and should have no presence in the new Syria.
Swathes of northern Syria, including oil-rich areas, have been occupied by the PKK/YPG since 2015.
Fighting has raged around the Arab-majority city of Manbij, controlled by the so-called Manbij Military Council, a group operating under the YPG, since anti-regime forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad on Dec. 8.
According to the Observatory, “Clashes continued south and east of Manbij, while Turkish forces bombarded the area with drones and heavy artillery.”
Türkiye has mounted multiple operations against the PKK/YPG since 2016, and Ankara-backed groups have captured several YPG-occupied towns in the past month, including Manbij and Deir el-Zour.
The SNA is looking to mount another operation against the terrorists.
U.S. troops remain in the region, though the incoming Trump administration is planning to withdraw them, according to unconfirmed reports.
Türkiye also said it expects Trump to heed his NATO ally’s security concerns and pull back U.S. troops from northern Syria.
Türkiye says it trusts the new Syrian administration in the fight against PKK/YPG but threatened military action if the terrorist group refuses to disband, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying the terrorist group either “bury their arms” or themselves would “be buried.”
Syria’s de-facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has vowed his administration aims to resolve the crisis in northeastern Syria and ultimately integrate the group into the national forces.
A report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah on Friday said the PKK/YPG has agreed to work with the new administration in Damascus after making first contact with the HTS.
The YPG has agreed to be integrated into the Syrian army and wave the new Syrian flag in all towns under its occupation, Sabah said, citing a so-called official of the YPG speaking to Arabic international daily Asharq Al-Awsat.
Syria’s new rulers plan to hold a National Dialogue Conference in mid-January, which aims to unite all factions in the country.