US pulls troops from Turkish border in Syria, breaches commitments to Kurdish fighters

US troops on Monday, October 7 began its withdrawal from the Turkish border in Syria Kurd-led forces in northeast Syria said, ahead of threatened attacks by Kurdish forces against the Islamic State.

The towns of Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ayn has seen US troops withdrawal from the region, the UK based non-profit, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) was quoted as saying by Reuters. 

The recent withdrawal is a breach of US commitments to its Syrian Kurdish fighter allies against the fight against IS.

While the Syrian Kurdish fighters accused Washington of going back from its promise, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is US-backed, said it "will not hesitate for a single moment" to defend itself from the threatened Turkish offensive.

The announcement comes hours after the White House announced that the US military will not be a part of the long-planned military operation to create a "safe zone".

"Despite our efforts to avoid any military escalation with Turkey and the flexibility we have shown to move forward in establishing a mechanism for the security of the borders ..., the American forces did not fulfil their commitments and withdrew their forces from the border areas with Turkey," the SDF stated.

On the issue of the planned invasion operation by Turkey in northern and eastern Syria, the SDF said the attack "will have a great negative impact on our war against the Daesh organisation and will destroy everything that has been achieved with regards to stability during the last years."

US military and Kurdish fighter ties

The SDF along with US forces have been fighting the Islamic State, also known as Daesh fighters in eastern and northern Syria. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to launch a military operation against the Syrian Kurdish forces as he views them as threats to his country.

The decision to withdraw from Turkey was agreed by both Republicans and Democrats in a bid to avoid worldwide condemnation against the US by its allies for the largescale casualties that are expected to take place if the massacre takes place.

Its decision to withdraw has threatened geopolitical instability in the region.

Joint military cooperation between the US military and Kurdish fighters have made huge impacts in diminishing IS's capabilities. In a landmark operation in March, land held by the IS extremists was captured, leading to the end of the "caliphate" that was declared by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014.