Turkish forces evacuated two bases in the western countryside of Tal Abyad, in the northern countryside of Raqqa, in northern Syria, sources in the pan-Arab media Asharq Al-Awsat revealed.
The forces withdrew from their military bases in the villages of Harekli and Tannouz.
The withdrawal, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, was coordinated with Russian forces in the region. The withdrawal will likely be followed by an advance by Russian forces, as well as those of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in Tal Abyad in an undisclosed deal between Moscow and Ankara.
Meanwhile, in a sign that Ankara may not have completely abandoned plans to launch a cross-border military operation against Kurdish forces, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed his country’s determination to soon link safe zones in northern Syria.
Last May, Turkey announced it would continue a full-scale military campaign in northern Syria to complete the creation of safe zones near its border. The zones in question will extend to a depth of 30 kilometers in Syrian territory.
On Monday, Erdogan threatened to clear northeastern Syria of Kurdish-led forces amid an increase in drone strikes and shelling in northeastern Syria. “We will continue our fight against terrorism. Our decision to establish a 30-kilometer deep security line along our southern border is permanent,” he told the 13th Ambassadors’ Conference in Ankara. “I hope we will soon unite the parts of this security zone by clearing the last areas where the terrorist organization is nesting in Syria,” Erdogan added, referring to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Despite Erdogan’s strong rhetoric, Turkey’s plans for a military campaign in Syria remain without international support. The US, which considers the Kurds a key ally in the war against ISIS in Syria, has warned against any Turkish military move, saying it would pose a threat to forces fighting the terror group. European countries also rejected any new Turkish invasion. For its part, Russia demanded that Ankara cooperate with Damascus instead of resorting to a military option. Iran, another supporter of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Damascus, said any Turkish operation would only serve the interests of terrorists and destabilize the region.
Source: Capital
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