Blinken meets Erdogan over clashes in Syria

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks focused on establishing stability in Syria after clashes between forces backed by the US and Turkey erupted in the north.

Clashes erupted between the US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in the countryside of Aleppo on Thursday. The SNA were reportedly covered by Turkish air strikes. 

In the northern city of Raqqa, clashes were reportedly between the SDF and protesters calling for HTS rule of the Kurdish-held area, killing at least four demonstrators. 

In Hasakah, local reports said SDF troops also used live ammunition to disperse similar protests.

In neighboring Deir Ezzor, local Arab tribes accused the SDF of “heavy-handed actions” to suppress protests, which reportedly resulted in civilian deaths.

The violence comes days after Turkish-backed forces seized the northern city of Manbij from the SDF. A Syrian opposition source told Reuters the US and Turkey had reached an agreement on the withdrawal. 

Blinken met President Tayyip Erdogan at Ankara's Esenboga Airport after visiting Jordan on his first trip to the region since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government was ousted on Sunday.

Erdogan and Blinken discussed the latest developments in Syria, with Erdogan calling on the international community to work together for the reconstruction of institutions in Syria, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Erdogan also told Blinken that Turkey would take preventive measures in Syria for its national security against all organisations it deems as terrorists, the statement said, adding that Ankara would not allow any weakness in the fight against Islamic State.

Blinken noted the shared interest of the US and Turkey in supporting a Syrian-led political transition to an accountable and inclusive government, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

He emphasised the need to ensure the coalition to defeat Islamic State can continue to execute its critical mission, Miller also said.

Blinken will meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday.

NATO allies Washington and Ankara supported Syrian rebels during the 13-year civil war, but their interests notably clashed when it came to one of the rebel factions - the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The SDF is the main ally in a US coalition against Islamic State militants. It is spearheaded by the People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara sees as an extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants that it outlaws and who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.