Assad seizing key border town as US forces leave

Bloomberg

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took control of the strategic town of Manbij near the Turkish border amid growing pressure on Ankara to end an offensive that has drawn US and European sanctions and accusations of war crimes.
In its strongest comments yet, Russia said the offensive was “unacceptable” and it was opposed to the presence of Turkish forces inside Syria, where Russian support has helped Assad survive an eight-year-old war.
Volkswagen AG has decided to delay a final decision on a 1.3 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) car plant investment in Turkey, the clearest sign of the economic fallout from the military operation in Syria.
The Trump administration urged Turkey to enact “an immediate ceasefire” in Syria and announced sanctions on members of the cabinet, though the punitive action appeared to be lot milder than what was demanded by US lawmakers.
The lira was rallied on Tuesday, as markets were apparently bracing for stronger measures.
Russia branded the Turkish offensive in Syria “unacceptable,” in its strongest criticism yet of the week-old military operation.
The Kremlin’s special envoy for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, said that troops loyal to Damascus must control the country’s borders and the Kremlin opposes the presence of Turkish forces inside
Syrian territory. Russia won’t permit any clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces, he said.
“We have always called on Turkey to exercise restraint and considered any military operation in Syria unacceptable,” Lavrentiev said.
“Security along the Turkish-Syrian border must be ensured by the deployment of government troops along the whole length.”
UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights Rupert Colville called on Turkish authorities to launch an urgent investigation into videos that appeared to show Turkish-backed Syrian rebels carrying out executions during the offensive in Syria.
Colville said in a statement that the UN had viewed two separate videos that appear to show fighters capturing and executing three Kurdish men near the M4 highway in northern Syria.
“On the same day, we received reports indicating that a well-known Kurdish female politician, Hevrin Khalaf, was also executed on the same highway,” Colville said.
Syrian government forces expanded their hold over the city of Manbij and continue to deploy on the western bank of the Euphrates river in northern Syria as the US-led coalition forces withdraw, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports.