Ankara has vowed to continue operations in northern Syria as concerns grow over attacks on the Kurdish-controlled border town of Kobani.

Turkey has rejected U.S. claims that it agreed to a ceasefire with Kurdish forces in northern Syria and vowed to continue efforts to clear them from the area – a military operation launched after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad.

On Thursday, a senior Turkish defense official spoke out claim A Washington-brokered ceasefire between Turkish-backed rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Syrian city of Manbij has been extended through the weekend, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Supporters of the Self-Defense Forces are washington But Ankara considers it a “terrorist organization” and claims it has links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a four-year armed insurgency on Turkish soil.

On Thursday, Turkish officials called Miller’s statement a “gaffe” and said it was “impossible” for Turkey to engage in dialogue with the Self-Defense Forces, led by the People’s Protection Units (YPG). An extension of the PKK.

“Until the PKK/YPG terrorist organization disarms and its foreign fighters leave Syria, we will continue to prepare and take measures within the scope of the fight against terrorism,” the official said.

Türkiye considers the PKK, YPG and SDF as “terrorist” organizations. The United States and Türkiye’s Western allies also label the PKK as “terrorists,” but exclude the YPG and SDF.

Fighting between Turkish-backed factions and Syrian Kurdish forces has resumed after more than a week in which militants led by opposition groups Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted Syria’s longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu reported from Istanbul that Turkey believes that the new Syrian government has a responsibility to remove “foreign fighters” – an allusion to members of the PKK’s YPG – from its territory.

“Turkey considers all PKK members within the PKK to be foreign fighters, and the Turkish Foreign Minister said that these foreign fighters among the opposition factions … should leave Syria, especially after the new Syrian government is established and expected to be established In the case of a national army,” she said.

She added that Türkiye may intervene if the new government fails to drive foreign fighters from its territory.

The Turkish official’s comments come amid growing concerns that Turkey may attack the Kurdish-controlled Syrian border town of Kobani, also known as the Arab City, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Manbij. at.

US President-elect Donald Trump described Assad’s fall as “unfriendly takeoverThe Turks are allied with several opposition groups leading a lightning offensive against Damascus.

Türkiye’s foreign minister gives interview to Al Jazeera on Wednesday Hakan Fidan Rejecting Trump’s comments, saying it would be “a grave mistake” to describe current events in Syria as a Turkish takeover.