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Turkey would crush Kurdish forces if pullout did not happen: Erdogan

ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned here today that if Kurdish forces did not withdraw from a proposed safe zone along the border Turkey would crush the heads of Kurdish forces.

Turkish president who had agreed to a US brokered deal about withdrawal of Kurdish forces warned in a televised speech: “If the pullout does not happen by Tuesday (22nd day of October, 2019) evening, we will start where we left off and continue to crush the terrorists´ heads”. 

Nevertheless, despite warning that he would closely monitor the operation, President Erdogan has announced today that the evacuation of Kurdish fighters and the positions that they control in the border region with Turkey had started. His statement confirmed that the evacuation process was taking place the way it was visualized by the brokers of the deal.

Erdogan reiterated that the safe area agreed upon with the US would be thirty-two kilometers in depth and 440 kilometers in length including the eastern region of the Euphrates extending to the border with Iraq. He said that Turkish troops would stay put in the field till evacuation completed.

Turkish Defense Minister has assured the President that there were no clashes between Turkish and Kurdish forces.

A relevant piece published earlier: 

Turkey agrees to 5-day ceasefire in N. Syria

ANKARA: US Vice President Mike Pence has announced that Ankara had agreed on a cease-fire in Syria, days after its forces launched an offensive in northern Syria.

President Donald Trump took to the Twitter to state: “Good News out of Turkey. News Conference shortly with VP and Sec. Pompeo. Thank you to RTErdogan. Millions of lives will be saved!”

Trump Twitter

Pence alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here has informed today that there will be a pause in military operations for 120 hours while the US facilitates the withdrawal of the People’s Protection Units (or YPG, that had been a major component of the US-led effort to combat Islamic State in Syria and had wound up in control of approximately a third of the country) from the affected areas in the safe zone. And once that is completed, Turkey has agreed to a permanent ceasefire.

Pence held: “The Turkish side will pause Operation Peace Spring in order to allow for the withdrawal of YPG forces from the safe zone for 120 hours. All military operations under Operation Peace Spring will be paused, and Operation Peace Spring will be halted entirely on completion of the withdrawal.” Pence further informed that US forces in the region had already begun to facilitate a safe disengagement of YPG units. The deal also provided for Ankara not to engage in military operations in the Syrian border town of Kobani.

According to VP Pence US and Turkey had committed to a peaceful resolution of Ankara’s demand for a safe zone in northern Syria near Turkey’s border, one of the objectives of the Turkish offensive. It is pertinent to mention here that Turkey views the YPG as a security threat due to its ties to separatist Kurds in Turkey. That’s why  it attacked Syria to the group back back from its border. Globally it has been asked what would happen to tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters and their families in Kurdish custody.

Pence added that he had spoken to US President Donald Trump after the talks and that Trump had expressed his gratitude for the ceasefire accord.

News Pakistan

 

M M Alam

M. M. Alam is a Pakistan-based working journalist since 1981. Karachi University faculty gold medalist Alam began his career four decades ago by writing for Dawn, Pakistan’s highest circulating English daily. He has worked for region’s leading publications, global aviation periodicals including Rotors (of USA) and vetted New York Times as permanent employee of daily Express Tribune. Alam regularly covers international aviation and defense-related events including Salon Du Bourget (France), Farnborough (United Kingdom), Dubai (UAE). Alam has reported thousands of events and interviewed hundreds of people in Pakistan, UAE, EU, UK and USA. Being Francophone Alam also coordinates with a number of French publications.