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A SENIOR Syrian Turkmen militia officer made a shock defection to his forces’ arch-enemy Turkey yesterday.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said its spokesman Brigadier General Talal Silo had surrendered to Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions near the town of Jarabulus, the Reuters news agency reported.
He was then escorted into Turkey from the FSA-occupied border town in northern Aleppo province, just north of Kurdish-held Manbij.
FSA spokesman Ibrahim al-Idlibi said: “Silo was secretly co-ordinating with commanders from the FSA and when he entered areas under their control he then crossed into Turkish territory.”
No reason was given for Brig Gen Silo’s defection, but tensions between the dominant Kurdish YPG militia and smaller US-backed FSA factions in the SDF has reportedly been growing.
The US-led Inherent Resolve coalition said it was “aware of reports of Talal Silo’s apparent departure from the SDF, but have no further details on his current status at this time.”
