A high-level US delegation has eked out a deal to temporarily halt Turkey’s violent weeklong offensive into northern Syria, Vice President Mike Pence announced today, but the pact forcing the evacuation of Syrian Kurds who were long backed by the Pentagon is generating criticism within the Donald Trump administration.
Under the deal, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG, which formed the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, will retreat 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Syria’s northern border with Turkey, Pence said. Ankara will pause forward military operations for five days.
