Amid growing chaos in Syria, President Donald Trump has ordered all U.S. troops to withdraw from the country’s north to avoid an “untenable” conflict between Turkey and U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday.

The approximately 1,000 U.S. troops in Syria are not leaving the country entirely, Esper told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”…

“In the last 24 hours, we learned that they (the Turks) likely intend to expand their attack further south than originally planned — and to the west,” Esper said…

Esper said he would not discuss a timeline for the U.S. pullback, but he said it would be done “as safely and quickly as possible.”