French Troops Providing Artillery Support to Kurdish Militia in Syria - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The French special forces have installed six artillery batteries in areas held by Kurdish militia near the Syrian-Iraqi border, the Anadolu news agency reported.

The batteries were installed north of the Baguz village in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, which is controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), viewed by Ankara as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey as a terrorist organization, according to the Turkish news agency.

READ MORE: France Talking About 'Attacking Syria Again' While Supporting al-Nusra — Analyst

The news comes just days after a convoy of 20 vehicles carrying around 70 French servicemen was reportedly stopped in the Qamishli area of the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah at a checkpoint manned by Syrian government troops on Thursday. The YPG representatives arrived at the checkpoint and confirmed that the French convoy was heading for their areas. The government troops decided to release the French servicemen and let them proceed to the Kurdish-controlled areas.

In March, French President Emmanuel Macron promised support for the Syrian Kurdish units, which triggered sharp criticism from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who accused Paris of supporting terrorism.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201805201064620110-france-help-artillery-kurds-syria/