WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Local media reported Tuesday that the SDF had threatened to halt an offensive on Daeshe’s de facto capital, Raqqa, and deploy about 40,000 fighters to the Manbij front, where Kurdish positions have reportedly come under attack by Turkish forces.
"We call on all armed actors on the ground to maintain focus on Daesh, which remains a lethal and common threat," Colon said.
The spokesman added that the coalition remains closely engaged with Turkey and the SDF, as well as other coalition-supported groups on the ground in Syria, "to facilitate action and unity of effort against Daesh over the coming months."
Turkey considers a component of the SDF, the Kurdish People's Protection Units, an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which Ankara has designated a terror group.
Kurdish People's Protection Units, also known as the YPG, took party in an earlier mission to liberate Manbij from Daesh.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey was still waiting for the United States to deliver on its promise of ensuring that Kurdish forces had left Manbij. At the same time, the Turkish military has reportedly begun pounding Kurdish positions in Manbij, hitting an SDF building near the city.
