US conducts new joint patrol with Turkey in northeast Syria - GulfToday

US conducts new joint patrol with Turkey in northeast Syria

  • 04 Oct 2019
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A US soldier oversees members of the Syrian Democratic Forces as they demolish a Kurdish fighters' fortification and raise a Tal Abyad Military Council flag near the Turkish border. Andrew Goedl/AP

The US-led coalition says it’s conducted the third joint patrol with Turkey in northeastern Syria, part of a plan designed to defuse tensions between its NATO ally and Syrian Kurds.

The coalition said the patrol went ahead as planned on Friday. Washington says the deal reached with Ankara in August aims to address Turkey’s security concerns.

Ankara views Syrian Kurdish fighters as an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey and wants them away from the shared border, calling it a “safe zone.”

So far, fighters from the most prominent Syrian Kurdish group _ the People’s Protection Units or YPG - have moved away from border posts.

But Turkey remains unhappy with the size of the area. It also wants some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees to return there.

Associated Press

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