Turkey-backed Syrian fighters prepare to replace U.S. forces

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters are preparing to deployin eastern Syria alongside Turkish troops once American forces withdraw, a spokesperson said Monday,adding thatforces have begunmassing on the front line of a town held by Kurdish-led forces.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the withdrawal from Syriawill be slow and co-ordinated with Turkey, but didn't provide atimetable. Turkey said the two countries are co-ordinating to ensurethere is no "authority vacuum" once the U.S. troops leave.

A Kurdish-led force captured much of northern and eastern Syriafrom the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)with the help of the U.S.-led coalition. The U.S. views the Kurds as allies in the battle against ISIS militants. Turkey views the Kurdish fighters as terrorists becauseof their links to a Kurdish insurgent group inside Turkey.

Youssef Hammoud, of the Turkey-backed Syrian opposition forces, said their fighters and weapons have been deploying on the frontline with Manbij, a Kurdish-administered town in northern Syriawhere U.S. troops are based.

Up to 15,000 Syrian fighters

On Monday, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported thatTurkey-backed Syrian forces had moved closer to Manbij, equippedwith heavy weapons and armoured vehicles.

Manbij was at the centre of an agreement the U.S. and Turkeyreached in June under which Kurdish forces were to withdraw. Inrecent weeks Turkey had said the U.S. was dragging its feet inimplementing the deal and had vowed to launch a new offensiveagainst the Kurds.

Those threats, and a phone call with Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan last week, appear to have triggered Trump's decisionto withdraw all 2,000 U.S. forces based in Syria.

Outgoing U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattishas signed the order, a spokesperson told Reuters onMonday. Mattis had advised againstthe Syria withdrawal, and it wasone of the factors in his resignation from the Trump administration last week.

Hammoud said there is "no alternative" except Turkish forcesand allied Syrian fighters. He said up to 15,000 Syrian fighterstrained in Turkey are ready to take part in the operation. He saidthe initial focus was on Manbij and areas just across the nearbyEuphrates River.

Hammoud said "we are ready to fight Daesh," referring to ISIS. But the extremists are largely confined to a remote desert enclave hundreds of kilometresto thesoutheast of Manbij.

Hammoud said they are now preparing to take on Manbij. Deploying to areas to the south will come later, he said.

Turkey's armed forces have led two offensives into Syria since2016 to push ISIS militants and Kurdish forces back from
the border.

The Kurdish-led forces still control around 30 per cent of Syria,mostly in the east, including some of the richest oilfields.

TheKurdish militia has expressed shock at the U.S. decision towithdraw,and now faces a triple threat from Turkey, the Syriangovernment and ISIS.

Trump has claimed to have defeated ISIS, but the Kurdish fightersare still battling the extremists in the remote town of Hajin nearthe Iraqi border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said thefighting displaced nearly 1,000 civilians on Sunday alone.