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Turkey Says It'll Wipe Out A US-Backed Force In Syria

Turkey's president is accusing the U.S. of supporting terrorism, thanks to U.S. plans to back a Kurdish force on Turkey's border.
Posted at 4:53 PM, Jan 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-15 16:53:30-05

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is accusing the U.S. of backing a terrorist army along Turkey's border with Syria — and Erdoğan says Turkey's preparing to wipe it out.

The U.S. plans to form a 30,000-strong force of Kurdish-led troops at Syria's borders with Turkey and Iraq. Kurdish forces in Syria have been allied with the U.S. in the fight against terrorist groups like ISIS.

Turkey is another U.S. ally in Syria. But the Turks are also fighting against Kurdish militants at home and consider the Kurdish forces in Syria part of the problem.

Turkey has attacked Syria's Kurds in the past. Now, Erdoğan says the country is gearing up for an operation to "suffocate" the planned border force before it's fully established.

Turkey's already on the outs with the U.S. because the Americans won't hand over expatriate cleric Fethullah Gülen. And then there's a recent U.S corruption trial, which has implicated Turkish banks.