'Safe zone' in northern Syria not yet cleared of Kurdish forces: Erdogan
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- Turkey is aware of the presence of Kurdish fighters in the planned “safe zone” in northern Syria, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, adding that his country will continue its cross-border operations against Kurdish “terrorists” to the end.
“We are aware that there are still terrorists in the planned safe zone. They [US and Russia] cannot deceive us by saying that they have driven out the terrorists from these areas,”Erdogan told deputies of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the Turkish parliament.
Turkey sees the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as a terrorist group for its alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey. The PKK has fought for decades for Kurdish rights and is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and many European countries.
Erdogan added that Kurdish forces have also not withdrawn from east and south of Kobane, a key location for the Kurds as the site of one of their first victories against the Islamic State group (ISIS) in 2015.
Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched Operation Peace Spring, intended to clear a 32 km-deep zone of Kurdish forces in Northern Syria to resettle Arab Syrian refugees on October 9. The operation commenced after Trump greenlighted the invasion following the withdrawal of US troops from the north of the country.
Fierce fighting ensued between the SDF and Turkish-backed Syrian forces, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians. Ankara stuck two deals with the US and Russia which led to a ceasefire, which Turkey has been accused of violating.
As part of the deals, the SDF withdrew from all areas bordering Turkey after striking a deal with Damascus to avoid further attacks from Turkey.
The SDF withdrawal has been confirmed by Russia but Turkey is still not convinced, threatening to continue its operation against the SDF in Syria and the PKK in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“Turkey will continue its fight in Syria and Iraq until there are no terrorists left,” threatened Erdogan, adding that his country is “committed” to both deals with the US and Russia “as long as our allies fulfill their promises.”
Turkey and Russia have conducted several joint patrols, part of the Sochi agreement brokered on October 22, in the city of Kobane.
“[T]he second joint land patrol began with the participation of Turkish and Russian military elements and UAVs in the Ayn al Arab [Kobane] region to the east of the Euphrates,” read a Tuesday statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry.
Footage from local media showed Turkish military vehicles being stormed by locals as they entered the city on Tuesday.
Syrian regime forces have been deployed to most border areas with Turkey following the deal with the SDF. They were attacked by pro-Turkey militants in late October, resulting in several deaths and 18 captured, who were later handed over to Russian military police.
The latest deployment of Syrian forces was made to east Qamishli on Tuesday, reported Syrian state-media SANA. The outlet reported that the forces will face “Turkish aggression” in the north.
Turkey and its proxies so far only control the towns of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad). There are still Kurdish fighters in the vicinity of these towns, typically in Sari Kani.
There have been frequent clashes between the two sides in the villages surrounding Sari Kani and Gire Spi. The Turkish defense ministry claimed on Tuesday that the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – the backbone of the SDF – detonated explosives in Gire Spi at noon, but said it did not result in any casualties.