{"id":60557,"date":"2018-02-06T19:12:18","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T19:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/06\/dod-us-backed-force-heading-to-defend-syrian-city-could-be-cut-from-anti-isis-coalition\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:23:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:23:14","slug":"dod-us-backed-force-heading-to-defend-syrian-city-could-be-cut-from-anti-isis-coalition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/06\/dod-us-backed-force-heading-to-defend-syrian-city-could-be-cut-from-anti-isis-coalition\/","title":{"rendered":"DoD: US-backed force heading to defend Syrian city could be cut from anti-ISIS coalition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Syriac Military Council<\/a> \u2014 a member of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces<\/a> \u2014 has announced it will send units to fight in Afrin, risking being cut from the global coalition fighting ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MFS \u201cdecided to send reinforcements to [the] Afrin battle<\/a> to defend Afrin people from Turkish invasion,\u201d the group said in a statement Sunday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe appeal to the international community as Syriac Christian people and urge them to stop the barbaric Turkish attack and support us by all means,\u201d the group\u2019s statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MFS has been historically allied with the People\u2019s Protection Units<\/a>, or YPG, currently engaged against Turkish forces in northern Syria<\/a>, but their recent decision could risk severing the group from their U.S. allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe would review their support, try to determine their intentions, talk to them, and if they decide that this is what they got to do, we would absolutely not support them,\u201d Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MFS is a relatively small militia within the Syrian Democratic Forces, which fought in the liberation of Raqqa, among other battles. Many of group\u2019s fighters are part of the Assyrian Christian minority. As such, they tended to attract volunteer fighters from western countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny forces that decide to move to Afrin will not receive continued Coalition support,\u201d a spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement to Military Times.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Coalition has been clear: military operations in Afrin are a distraction to the defeat-Daesh fight,\u201d the statement read. \u201cWe are not providing training, equipment or support to operations in Afrin and continue to be focused on defeating Daesh, particularly in the Middle Euphrates River Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Inherent Resolve pushed back against YPG claims that U.S. troops had deployed to the Syrian town of Tal Abyad<\/a>, located near the Turkish border, because of Turkish provocations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoalition forces are not engaged in combat operations in the vicinity of Afrin, nor are we engaged in operations in western Syria,\u201d they said.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pahon added that the U.S. military doesn\u2019t typically disclose troop locations downrange, and only did so in the case of Manbij recently because of the widespread social media posts and reporting that highlighted U.S. patrols in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\t