War crimes in Syria

Top US envoy for Syria: Turkish supported forces have committed "several" war crimes in Syria

Jennifer Hansler and Ryan Browne

Jim Jeffrey, the US envoy for Syria and the coalition against ISIS, says the US believes that Turkish-supported opposition (TSO) forces in Syria have committed war crimes.

The US envoy told the committee that “we haven’t seen any widespread ethnic cleansing in that area since the Turks have come in.” He added, “many people fled because they’re very concerned about these Turkish supported Syrian opposition forces, as are we.”

Jeffrey told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that “Turkish-supported Syrian opposition forces who are under general Turkish command in at least one instance did carry out a war crime and we have reached out to Turkey to demand an explanation.”

Earlier today in the hearing, Jeffrey described the TSO as “very very dangerous and, in some cases, extremist.”

Some background: The recent withdrawal of US troops from Syria signaled what many called a betrayal of their Kurdish allies.

The US was not included in the Syria deal reached by Russia and Turkey yesterday. The deal made it clear that Turkey and Russia are not interested in including the US in plans regarding Syria's future.

Jeffrey said yesterday that he specifically was not consulted or advised in advance on President Trump's decision to pull US troops from northeastern Syria.