ANKARA – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that their forces willenter the Syrian town of Manbij if the United States does not removeKurdish fighters.

In a speech in Istanbul, he said Turkey will launch a new operation withindays against the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia which controls swathesof Syria’s northern border region.

Erdogan said Turkey is determined to bring “peace and security” to areaseast of the Euphrates, where the Kurdish Militia controls an areastretching more than 400 km along the border towards Iraq.