WHAT’S THE STORY?
KURDISH fighters and civilians were evacuated from a besieged town on the Syrian border yesterday as the US Defence Secretary confirmed American troops will be redeployed to western Iraq.
Dozens of vehicles left Ras al-Ayn yesterday in a move opening the way for Turkish forces to take over.
The evacuation was carried out under the terms of a temporary ceasefire brokered by the US.
TELL ME MORE
TURKEY’S offensive was placed on a three-day pause to allow the Kurds to leave the territory.
Ankara says it wants to create a “safe zone” clear of the Kurdish fighters – who have been instrumental in the battle against Daesh, but who Turkey considers terrorists – across the entire north-east border. That area is far longer than that which the Kurds will leave under the terms of the current deal.
The Trump administration negotiated the accord after heavy criticism at home and abroad over accusations that it had opened the way for the Turkish invasion by abruptly removing its soldiers from north-east Syria.
Ras al-Ayn has been a major battle zone since Turkey launched its invasion on October 9.
While the ceasefire deal only calls for fighters to leave, civilians fled in the convoy as well, fearing atrocities by Turkish-backed Syrian forces.
Turkish TV showed a line of vehicles driving through agricultural areas out of town on Sunday. The Turkish military said at least 86 vehicles were involved, heading to the town of Tal Tamr further south.
WHAT ABOUT THE IRAQ REDEPLOYMENT?
MARK Esper, the US defence secretary, told reporters that around 1000 soldiers will be transferred there to stop Daesh, also known as Islamic State and Isis, reasserting dominance.
Flying to the region, Esper said this would see American fighters “help defend Iraq”.
He stated: “The US withdrawal continues apace from north-eastern Syria. The current game plan is for those forces to reposition into western Iraq.”
Commenting on the situation, Donald Trump referred to Esper as “Mark Esperanto”, stating that the ceasefire was “holding up very nicely”.
That tweet was later deleted.
ANY PUSHBACK?
US House speaker Nancy Pelosi issued fresh criticism of the withdrawal of troops as she arrived in Jordan for talks on the matter with King Abdullah.
Pelosi said: “With the deepening crisis in Syria after Turkey’s incursion, our delegation has engaged in vital discussions about the impact to regional stability, increased flow of refugees, and the dangerous opening that has been provided to Isis (IS), Iran and Russia.”
WHAT DO THE KURDS SAY?
KINO Gabriel, a spokesperson for Kurdish-led forces, tweeted that all soldiers have left Ras al-Ayn, which they defended during the previous hostilities with Daesh.
He said: “We don’t have any more fighters in the city.”
The Kurds had been holed up for days in a small pocket on the southern edge of the city, surrounded by the Turkish-backed fighters and engaged in clashes well after the official start of the ceasefire.
Both sides accuse each other of repeatedly violating the three-day ceasefire, leading to loss of life. Turkey’s defence ministry said one of its soldiers was killed on Sunday in a Kurdish attack with anti-tank weapons and small arms fire near the border town of Tal Abyad.
That brought the Turkish military’s death toll to seven soldiers since it launched its offensive on October 9.
The Syrian Defence Forces said 16 of its fighters had been killed and three wounded in the past 24 hours.
A senior official in the Kurdish-led forces, Redur Khalil, said that after the Ras al-Ayn evacuation, the forces will withdraw from a zone about 75 miles wide and 20 miles deep between Ras al-Ayn and the town of Tal Abyad further west.
That area has been the main theatre of fighting during the offensive, causing the flight of tens of thousands of civilians – Arab and Kurdish – from the villages that dot the landscape.
WHAT ABOUT PRESIDENT RECEP ERDOGAN?
THE Turkish leader, who held talks with US vice-president Mike Pence on Thursday, has not backed down over his offensive against the Kurds.
Speaking at a televised event on Saturday, he threatened extreme action if the Kurds did not withdraw by Tuesday evening, stating: “We will start where we left off and continue to crush the terrorists’ heads”.
Since the action began ten days ago, an estimated 160,000-300,000 people are thought to have left their homes.
HOW DID IT ALL BEGIN?
IT started after Trump confirmed that he would withdraw the small number of remaining US troops from the area.
While in place, they had provided protection from incursion for the Kurds and Trump has been accused of abandoning a key ally which has been instrumental in the battle against Daesh.
Ankara – which opposes Kurdish claims for a sovereign homeland – aims to establish a buffer zone reaching more than 20 miles into Syria. Erdogan’s administration hopes to resettle up to two million Syrian refugees there.
The country has been a major destination for Syrians fleeing the prolonged and brutal conflict.
However, some have warned that using the buffer zone as resettlement land for a majority Arab population could amount to ethnic cleansing of the local Kurdish people.
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