Erdogan: Turkey will not leave Syria before other countries do

The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly said that Turkey will not be leaving Syria until other countries pull out. They further added that they would continue their cross-border offensive against Kurdish fighters until they leave the region. Last month, Turkey launched its military incursion into northeast Syria to drive Kurdish YPG fighters from the border and establish a “safe zone”. Turkey also struck deals with the United States and Russia to keep the Kurdish militia out of the area. However, President Erdogan has accused both the countries of not fulfilling their part. 

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 305 Syrian Democratic Forces fighters, 24 Syrian government officials, and 353 Turkey-backed rebels have been killed since Turkey started its large scale military actions in the northern part of Syria. Turkey began its attack against the SDF and the Kurdish People's Protection Units also known as the YPG as the capital city of Ankara branded the militants as terrorists and separatists. 30 have been left dead due to violent clashes in Syria. According to reports, the intensity of the battle Kurdish militants and the rebels increased on the outskirts of Ayn Issa in the northern part of the Raqqa province alongside airstrikes and shelling by the rebels against the Kurdish militants of the SDF.

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Erdogan to approach Guetteres

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that the YPG had not completed its pullout. He informed about the patrols on Friday beforehand which were to take place at a depth of 7km within Syria, less than the 10km set out in the October 22 Ankara-Moscow deal. The deal has also led Syrian government forces to move back into border regions from which they had been absent for years. Later on Thursday, Erdogan said that Turkey planned to establish a "refugee town or towns" in a "safe zone" between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. The said plans might just cost 151 billion Lira ($26 bn) for which Erdogan is about to approach Guetteres, who is in Turkey to study the new settlement plans. 

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(With inputs from agencies)