Syrian Army Units Move North to Confront Turkish Aggression, As Deal Reached With Kurds

By Staff, Agencies

Syrian Arab Army units began moving north to confront Turkish aggression on Syrian's territory, SANA reported on Sunday.

This move comes to confront the ongoing Turkish aggression on towns and areas in the north of Hasaka and Raqqa provinces, where the Turkish forces committed massacres against locals, occupied some areas, and destroyed infrastructure.

The deployment follows the US decision to pull all its remaining troops from the area over the "untenable" situation there.

The Turkish assault, launched last week, is aimed at forcing Kurdish forces from along the border area.

Meanwhile, the fighting has spilled over to areas close to Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for “ISIS” / “ISIL”] detainee camps.

On Sunday, Kurdish officials said nearly 800 relatives of foreign Daesh members had escaped from Ain Issa, a camp in the north, as clashes raged nearby.

Accordingly, the Turkish offensive and US withdrawal has drawn an international outcry.

Turkey says it wants to drive the Kurdish groups within the force away from a "safe zone" reaching 30km into Syria.

It also plans to resettle more than three million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey within the zone. Many of them are not Kurds. Critics have warned this could lead to ethnic cleansing of the local Kurdish population.

The deal represents a significant shift in alliances for the Kurds, after losing the military protection of their long-term US partners in the area.