Assad's net tightens
Syrian troops deployed in support of Kurdish forces around a strategic northern city yesterday, in a shift of alliances hastened by last week's announcement of a US military withdrawal.
Nearly eight years into Syria's deadly conflict, the move marked another key step in President Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed drive to reassert control over the country.
Buoyed by its military victories, the regime is also making progress in efforts to break its diplomatic isolation, with Thursday's reopening of the Emirati embassy in Damascus.
The Syrian army announced that it had raised the flag in Manbij, a strategic city close to the Turkish border where Kurdis forces have been deployed since 2016 and where US-led coalition forces are also stationed.
A military spokesman said in a televised announcement that the army would be bent on "crushing terrorism and defeating all invaders and occupiers".
More than 300 government forces deployed in the Manbij area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Russia hailed as "positive" the Syrian army's entry into Manbij. The Kurds issued a statement welcoming the regime advance, a pragmatic shift in alliances that will dash their aspirations for autonomy but could help cut their losses after a US pullout they resent as a betrayal.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday criticised Trump's view of the world after the US president's announcement of a withdrawal of American troops from the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.
"President Trump makes a speciality of talking in very black and white terms about what's happening in the world," Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"We have made massive progress in the war against Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS), but it's not over and, although they have lost nearly all the territory they held, they still hold some territory and there is still some real risk," he said.
"We have to continue to be vigilant," he added.
Turkey yesterday said Kurdish militia "does not have the right" to appeal to Damascus for help to counter a threatened Turkish offensive in the north.
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