SYRIA: Russian Troops Move In As US Troops Withdraw

The Associated Press reports:

Russia moved to fill the void left by the United States in northern Syria, deploying troops Tuesday to keep apart advancing Syrian government and Turkish forces. At the same time, tensions grew within NATO as Turkey defied growing condemnation from its Western allies of its invasion across the border.

Now in its seventh day, Turkey’s offensive against the Kurds has upended alliances and is re-drawing the map of northern Syria for yet another time in Syria’s 8-year-old war.

U.S. rival Russia was quickly moving to entrench its de facto power broker role after President Donald Trump ordered the pullout of American forces in northeast Syria. The American move effectively abandoned the Kurdish fighters allied with the U.S. and opened the door for the Turkish invasion aimed at crushing them.