ISTANBUL, Oct 22 (ANSAMed-NNN) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said 700-800 Kurdish ”terrorists” with the YPG have left the Turkish safe zone in northern Syria since the start of the truce.
Speaking before he left for Sochi, where he will be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, just a few hours before the end of the ceasefire, Erdogan said that another ”1,200-1,300 are quickly leaving the area”.
The truce is scheduled to expire at 10 pm local time on Tuesday/
”We are following their steps with attention, they all have to leave or we will resume the operation in an even more determined way.”
Last week, Turkey agreed to suspend its Syria offensive for five days and will end the assault if Kurdish-led forces withdraw from a safe zone along the border.
US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish officials announced this following high-stakes talks.
The agreement for the 120-hour pause eased what had escalated into an unprecedented crisis between the United States and Turkey, but critics quickly accused President Donald Trump of again abandoning Kurdish allies.
Under the deal reached after Pence flew to Ankara, Kurdish forces will have to withdraw from an area 32 kilometres deep, becoming a “safe zone” long sought by Turkey, which brands the fighters as “terrorists”.
