Published 20:40 IST, October 25th 2019
Russian military police arrives in Syria as part of deal with Turkey
Russian Defense Ministry has said on October 25 that around 300 more Russian military police have been deployed in Syria under a deal between Ankara and Moscow.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on October 25 that around 300 more Russian military police have been deployed in Syria under a deal between Ankara and Moscow which stopped Turkey's military offensive in northeastern Syria. The deal was signed by Presidents Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin and requires the Russian military police and Syrian border guards to remove all Kurdish YPG fighters from within 30 km of the Turkish border by next Tuesday.
Turkey considers YPG as a terrorist group
The military police will patrol and support the withdrawal of Kurdish forces and their weapons to 30 km of the Syrian-Turkish border. Turkey considers YPG as a terrorist group aligned with Kurdish militants who have waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984. The deal marks Russia's deepening influence in the region just weeks after the United States started to withdraw forces from Syria. Russia said that the peace plan was being implemented smoothly and added that Kurdish fighters had already withdrawn from the border area.
The YPG led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkey
The YPG led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkey of launching an offensive targeting three villages in northeast Syria despite the truce, which resulted in thousands of civilians fleeing. On the other hand, Turkey's Defense Ministry has not directly commented on the SDF report but said that five of its military personnel had been wounded in an attack by the YPG militia around the border town of Ras al-Ain, near where the three villages are located. Turkey’s military operation has been widely condemned by its NATO allies, which said it was causing a fresh humanitarian crisis in Syria’s eight-year conflict and could let Islamic State prisoners held by the YPG to escape and regroup.
Updated 23:40 IST, October 25th 2019