U.S. Commanders recommend Syrian Kurds be allowed to keep weapons
 

U.S. Commanders recommend Syrian Kurds be allowed to keep weapons
BY: TAL AXELROD - 12/29/18 10:33 AM EST
RE: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4...weapons-report

U.S. military commanders are recommending that Kurdish fighters in Syria be allowed to keep their U.S.-supplied weapons as U.S. troops prepare to withdraw from the country.

Reuters reported Friday that three U.S. officials said the recommendations were part of discussions on a draft plan by the U.S. military. The details of the withdrawal are still unclear, but a plan will be sent to the White House in the coming days, according to the outlet.

A person familiar with the discussions of the U.S. withdrawal plan told Reuters that the White House and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan would oppose the proposal to allow the Kurds to keep their U.S.-supplied weapons.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

President Trump made the surprise announcement last week that the U.S. would withdraw from Syria after claiming victory over ISIS. Critics said the move effectively left Kurdish allies to finish the fight against Islamic militants in Sytia.

The recommendations come amid conflicting reports about whether Syrian government forces have entered the Kurdish-controlled town of Manbij, which U.S. forces patrol.

The Syrian government said in a statement Friday that its forces had entered the city of Manbij and raised the Syrian flag.

The Kurdish forces, known as the YPG, said in a statement that they are inviting the Syrian government forces into Manbij “to protect these areas against a Turkish invasion.”

But the U.S. military denied any changes in military forces in the town and war monitors said government forces were only on the perimeter. Erdoğan also said facts on the ground remain uncertain.

The U.S. told the YPG it would be able to keep the weapons they were supplied as long as the fight against ISIS continued, but Turkey wants the weapons, which could include anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles and mortars, to be returned.

“The fight isn’t over. We can’t simply start asking for the weapons back,” one Pentagon official told Reuters.

“The idea that we’d be able to recover them is asinine. So we leave them where they are,” another said, according to the outlet.