Clashes Break Out in Northern Syria, Testing Turkish Truce by Sune Engel Rasmussen and Nancy A. Youssef – Wall Street Journal
Renewed clashes between Kurdish and Turkish forces tested a shaky cease-fire in northern Syria on Friday, as the Russia-backed Syrian government moved troops into the area in part of its efforts to reclaim territory it ceded during the eight-year war.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, meanwhile, said the U.S. would reinforce its defense of oil fields in northeastern Syria, as America shifts away from President Trump’s earlier planned full troop withdrawal from the region.
Speaking at a press conference after meetings in Brussels, Mr. Esper said the deployments would include some mechanized forces—a classification that includes tanks, artillery, armored vehicles and other heavy equipment…