Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 8 February 2018

Egypt opens border with Gaza temporarily Lebanon labels

Israel border wall
By ASHRAF SWEILAM crossing point would op- ing of Gaza's main gate- make it out in the time al-
Associated Press erate for three days on a way to the outside world. lotted. an 'aggression'
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — humanitarian basis. Both Thousands of Gaza resi- The announcement comes
Egyptian officials say the spoke on condition of dents are on travel lists — amid warnings of a health- By BASSAM HATOUM
country has opened its bor- anonymity because they most of them medical pa- care crisis in Gaza, home to Associated Press
der with the Gaza Strip for weren't authorized to brief tients, students and holders 2 million people. NAQOURA, Lebanon (AP)
the first time this year. the media. of residency permits of oth- Egypt has kept Rafah most- — Lebanon's top secu-
The two officials said The Palestinian embassy in er countries. ly closed since Hamas took rity body on Wednesday
Wednesday the Rafah Cairo confirmed the open- Only a few thousand will over the territory in 2007.q instructed the military to
At Syria outpost, US general backs Kurdish fighters confront Israel if it goes
ahead with plans to build a
cement border wall along
By S. GEORGE the country's boundary, la-
S. EL DEEB beling it as an "aggression"
MANBIJ, Syria (AP) — On against its sovereignty.
the ground in Syria, the The statement by the High-
top U.S. general in the co- er Defense Council did not
alition fighting the Islamic elaborate but it comes
State group pledged on amid escalating tensions
Wednesday that Ameri- between the two neigh-
can troops would remain bors, who are technically
in the northern Syrian town at war. At the heart of the
of Manbij despite Ankara's current tensions is a new oil
demands for a U.S. pullout. and gas exploration deal
"We're here to ensure the on the countries' maritime
lasting defeat of ISIS is borders. Israel contests
maintained in this area," Lebanon's rights to one
Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk said area.
during a visit to U.S. forces Meanwhile, Lebanon is
in Manbij. ISIS is an alterna- protesting a controversial
tive acronym for the Islamic wall that Israel is planning
State group. to build along their shared
The U.S.-backed opposition border, which Lebanon
Syrian Democratic Forc- says would encroach on its
es, led mainly by a Syrian territory.
Kurdish militia which Turkey U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk speaks to the Associated Press at an American outpost in the "This wall, if it is built, will
northern Kurdish town of Manbij, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. The top U.S. general in the coali-
is now fighting in Syria, lib- tion fighting the Islamic State group pledged American troops would remain in the town despite be considered an aggres-
erated the town of Man- Ankara's demands for a U.S. pullout. sion against Lebanon," the
bij from the Islamic State (AP Photo/Susannah George) statement said. "The Higher
group in 2016. YPG, made up the back- gan said, referring to Amer- extremists once held. Pock- Defense Council has given
Manbij was hailed as an bone of the fight against ican troops. "We will come ets of IS fighters, however, instructions to confront this
early success story in the IS in Syria. But Ankara con- to return the lands to their remain in eastern Syria be- aggression to prevent Israel
American-backed fight siders the Syrian Kurdish real owners." tween the Euphrates River from building this so-called
against IS, but is now the fighters "terrorists" and al- On Jan. 20, Turkey and the Iraqi border. wall barrier on Lebanese
scene of escalating region- lied with Kurdish insurgents launched a cross-border Last month, U.S. Secretary territory," it added.
al tensions on the heels of within Turkey, the outlawed offensive into the north- of State Rex Tillerson said Israel's military said all work
military victories against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or western enclave of Afrin to the U.S. would maintain a was "being carried out in
extremists. PKK. The YPG. drive out the Syrian Kurd- military presence in Syria sovereign Israeli territory."
Funk's visit came amid rising Funk told reporters in Man- ish militia from there and after the conclusion of Parts of the militarized bor-
tensions between Turkey bij that the U.S. would con- subsequently threatened the fight against IS there, der have been fenced off
and the United States — tinue to support the SDF to extend its operation to pledging that the Trump for years.
NATO allies that have end- allies, despite tensions with Manbij, over 100 kilometers administration would not Andrea Tenenti, spokesper-
ed up on opposing sides in Turkey and that a contin- (62 miles) to the east. to repeat former President son for the United Nations
some aspects of the multi- ued U.S. presence in Syria's "I'm very confident in the Barack Obama’s “mistake” peacekeeping force in
layered war in Syria. north is aimed at deesca- (Syrian Democratic Forces) when he withdrew U.S. Lebanon known as UNIFIL,
Today, a small U.S. base lating tensions. leadership," Funk said. troops from Iraq in 2011. said the force is "fully en-
near Manbij — a cluster of "I don't worry," Funk said “When nobody else could “There’s no way to tell” gaged with both parties in
a handful of tents, prefab when asked about recent do it they retook Raqqa,” how long U.S. troops will order to find common solu-
housing units and Ameri- Turkish threats, "It's not in my Funk added, referring to need to remain in Syria, tions."
can armored vehicles — job description to worry, my the former capital of the said Army Maj. Gen. James "Any work that is con-
reflects deepening Ameri- job is to fight." self-proclaimed IS caliph- Jarrard, who heads the ducted along the Blue
can involvement in Syria. On Tuesday, Turkish Presi- ate in Syria. “I think that has U.S.-led special operations Line should be predictable
Since the ouster of IS from dent Recep Tayyip Erdo- earned them a seat at the task force fighting IS in Syria and also coordinated with
the border town, the U.S. gan called on the U.S. to table.” and Iraq. UNIFIL in order to prevent
has maintained a military withdraw its troops from The U.S.-backed forces re- “Right now the military role misunderstanding and de-
presence there and regu- Manbij and renewed a took Raqqa last October. is clearly defined and right crease tension," he told
larly conducts patrols in the threat to expand Ankara's The defeat marked a major now that’s to support the The Associated Press in an
area. military offensive in Syria to blow to IS and was followed SDF,” said Jarrard, who interview at the UNIFIL base
The U.S.-backed Syrian this town. by a string of swift territorial gathered with other Ameri- in the town of Naqoura,
Kurdish militia, known as the "Why are you staying there victories in Syria that retook can troops and command- in southern Lebanon on
People's Protection Units or (in Manbij)? Leave," Erdo- nearly all the territory the ers at the Manbij outpost.q Wednesday.q