US sends 20 military advisers, arms to YPG in Syria

Washington has sent 20 military advisers to Kobani in order to assist the PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed People's Protection Units (YPG) in its offensive on Manbij located west of the Euphrates River near Aleppo, according to a statement from the Syrian Local Coordination Committee.

The statement also indicated that the U.S. sent two cargo loads of ammunition to the group and advisers were dispatched to Tishrin Dam, south of Kobani. Furthermore, 250 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were also stationed in the town of Sarrin in eastern Aleppo, the statement added.

The SDF alliance, which is dominated by the YPG, as well as Syriac Christians and a few thousand fighters from lesser-known Arab groups, such as the Euphrates Volcano and the Revolutionary Army, is considered by many analysts as an attempt to legitimize Washington's weapons transfer to the region, to ease Ankara's concerns of PKK affiliates getting weapons from Turkey's allies. The PKK-affiliated group aims to advance from two directions in the area located between Azaz and Jarablous in northern Syria, where Ankara has planned to establish a "safe zone." It reached the Euphrates after pushing DAESH south of Sarrin with the assistance of anti-DAESH coalition airstrikes last month. The group had also seized control of Tishrin Dam from DAESH on Dec. 27 and headed to the Abu Qalqal region, 9 kilometers northwest of the Tishrin Dam. While the U.S. had delayed air support for the militant group for a certain period due to Ankara's protestations, Russia had undertaken the support, targeting Manbij's center with airstrikes hitting the northeastern part of the town.