France says not planning unilateral Syria operation

France said today it is not planning a unilateral military operation in Syria outside the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group after senior Kurdish officials claimed Paris intended to send troops.

"France is not planning any new military operation on the ground in northern Syria outside the international coalition against Daesh," President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement, using another term for IS.

Macron met with a delegation from the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) yesterday, and Kurdish official Asya Abdullah told reporters afterwards that France was planning on sending "new French troops to Manbij".

"The cooperation will be reinforced," she said.

Khaled Issa, the official representative in France of Syria's Kurdistan, had added: "France is going to reinforce its military presence."