Guler: Turkey believes that the new Syrian authorities will expel the Kurds from the entire territory of the country

Turkey believes that Syria's new rulers, including the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), will expel the Kurdish YPG fighters from all the territory they occupied in northeastern Syria, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said, Reuters reports.

"We believe that the new Syrian leadership and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its military, will, together with the Syrian people, liberate all territories occupied by terrorist organizations," Guler said during a visit to Turkish troops on the Syrian border with military commanders.

"We will also take all necessary measures with the same determination until all terrorist elements outside our borders are eliminated," he added.

Turkey views the Syrian YPG group as part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state and is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.

The YPG leads the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which controls territory in northeastern Syria. Since the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, Turkey and its Syrian allies have been battling the SDF, capturing the city of Manbij. Ankara has demanded that the Syrian Kurdish fighters disband and has called on Washington to end its support. Last week, the US military admitted it had 2,000 troops in Syria, twice the number previously announced.