U.S. troops start pullout from along Turkey’s border in Syria | CBC News

WorldU.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces in Syria say American troops have begun withdrawing from areas along Turkey’s border. U.S. troops ‘will not support or be involved in the operation’The Associated Press · Posted: Oct 07, 2019 1:26 AM ET | Last Updated: October 7Syrian Kurds take part in a demonstration against Turkish threats on Sunday at a U.S.-led international coalition base on the outskirts of Ras al-Ain town in Syria’s Hasakeh province near the Turkish border. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces in Syria say American troops have begun withdrawing from areas along Turkey’s border. This comes hours after the White House said U.S. forces in northeastern Syria will move aside and clear the way for an expected Turkish assault — essentially abandoning Kurdish fighters who fought alongside American forces in the yearslong battle to defeat the Islamic State group.The Syrian Democratic Forces say the move comes as Turkey is preparing to attack Kurdish-held areas in northeast Syria. The statement warns the Turkish invasion would be a blow to the fight against ISIS militants. The Kurdish Hawar news agency and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also say American troops were evacuating positions near the towns of Ras al-Ayn and Tal Abyad on Monday. U.S. troops “will not support or be involved in the operation” and “will no longer be in the immediate area,” in northern Syria, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in an unusual late-Sunday statement that was silent on the fate of the Kurds.