Ankara, Sep 24: The United States and Turkey on Monday held second joint ground military patrol within the proposed “safe zone” in northern Syria, alongside Turkey-Syria border.
A convoy of four-armored Turkish military vehicles crossed the border from the southeastern Sanliurfa province and met with the American military’s convoy to join them for joint ground patrol, according to Anadolu Agency.
The joint US-Turkish armed forces are slated to conduct the ground patrol in Syrian suburb of Tal Abyad. For the first time, both sides jointly conducted the ground patrol on September 9 for the planned safe zone.
On August 8, a joint statement by the US embassy and the Turkish Ministry of Defense in Ankara said the different sides hailed to set up the Turkey-based activities center “as soon as possible” and the safe zone “would become a peace corridor”, without giving further subtleties.
On August 29, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had declared Ankara would not permit the United States to postpone the implementation of the agreed “safe zone” in northeast Syria, insisting the agreement was the correct option to be upheld.
On the same day, a CNN report quoted Erdogan in its publishing as saying Turkey would not support delays in the procedure of plan implementation, as compared to an earlier plan with America to eliminate Kurdish YPG fighters from Manjib, the northern city of Syria, which Ankara had blamed Washington for delaying.
The US and Turkey have been at loggerheads over plans for the region, where the US-backed Kurdish YPG fighters, forming a main American force, are combating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL and ISIS). Moreover, Ankara considers YPG organization a “terror” outfit.
Trump has proposed the safe zone plan to Erdogan last year and has announced procedures to withdraw American special armed forces from northeast Syria, but later halted the plans in order to ensure US’ Kurdish allies were safe.
The Syrian government has called the deal between Turkey and the US a “blatant attack” on the nation’s power and sovereignty.
Northeastern Syria is as of now under the control of the US-upheld Kurdish-drove Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to a great extent involving the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey considers the YPG to be an augmentation of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which propelled a furnished crusade against the state before 35 years.
Turkey has, for a considerable length of time, been squeezing to set up a 30-40km profound zone inside Syria, looking for the removal of the YPG from the zone and the decimation of their passages and fortresses.
Also read:
- President Erdogan tells US: Turkey won’t allow delays in Syria ‘safe zone’ plan
- ‘Blatant aggression’ : Syrian government rejects US-turkey ‘safe zone’ agreement
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