Kurdish forces strike deal with Syrian government to stop Turkish offensive
The Turkish operation intends to create a ‘safe zone’ for the return of refugees to Syria. But world powers fear this will lead to the resurgence of IS.
The Kurdish forces in North Eastern Syria on Sunday announced that they had entered an agreement with the Syrian government to halt attacks from Turkey, AFP reported.
“In order to prevent and confront this aggression, an agreement has been reached with the Syrian government... so that the Syrian army can deploy along the Syrian-Turkish border to assist the Syrian Democratic Forces,” the Kurdish administration said in a statement.
On October 9, Turkey launched a ground and air assault against Kurdish militia in Syria that has been crucial in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group, days after President Donald Trump decided to withdraw soldiers from the region. However, in the face of strident opposition from his Republican allies in Congress, Trump called the Turkish assault a “bad idea” and said he did not endorse it.
The United States announced on Sunday, the fifth day of the offensive, that it was withdrawing 1,000 troops from Syria’s north.
The Turkish operation, called Operation Peace Spring, intends to create a “safe zone” for the return of millions of refugees to Syria. But world powers fear Ankara’s action will deepen the conflict. So far, more than 700 people with connections to the Islamic State have escaped from detention camps as clashes raged nearby. This has only cemented fears of a resurgence of the terrorist group.
Syrian state news agency SANA said Damascus was sending troops to the northern region to “confront the Turkish aggression”. But not many details were immediately available.
The Kurdish administration’s statement said that its deal “paves the way to liberate the rest of the Syrian cities occupied by the Turkish army such as Afrin”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said the country will not stop its operations in northern Syria, whatever some other countries may say. The United Nations said that 100,000 people have already been displaced by Turkey’s invasion of Syria. Aid officials on Friday warned of “yet another humanitarian crisis” in the war-torn country.
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