Syrian Kurdish forces agree to withdraw from Turkish border area

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Sunday it had agreed to withdraw more than 30 km (19 miles) from the Turkish border, an announcement welcomed by Damascus which said Turkey should now end its "aggression" in northeast Syria.

"The SDF is redeploying to new positions away from the Turkish-Syrian border across northeast Syria in accordance with the terms of the (Erdogan-Putin) agreement in order to stop the bloodshed and to protect the inhabitants of the region from Turkish attacks," the SDF said in a statement.

The head of the media office of the SDF was also cited by Russia Today TV as saying the Syrian forces will be deployed on the entire Syrian-Turkish borderline, adding Russia is playing the role of a mediator between the Syrian government and the Kurdish administration in northern Syria.

Syrian National Army (SNA) troops arrive at Ceylanpinar district in Turkey's border province of Sanliurfa after leaving Ras al-Ayn, October 23, 2019. /VCG Photo

Over the past couple of days, the Syrian army sent thousands of soldiers to deploy where the Kurdish forces have been pulling out.

On October 9, Turkey launched an operation to clear the Kurdish militia from northern Syria in the east of the Euphrates River to eliminate what Turkey perceives as a threat to its border security, impose a safe zone and resettle millions of Syrian refugees.

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On Oct. 13, the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said the Syrian army will deploy along the border with Turkey in an agreement with the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria to help repel a Turkish offensive.

Russian military police vehicles drive in a joint patrol with the Syrian Kurdish Asayish internal security forces in the town of Kobane, in the north of Syria's Aleppo province, October 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

The U.S. reached a deal with Turkey on October 17, imposing a five-day ceasefire to allow the Kurdish forces to pull back from the planned safe zone that Turkey wants to create in northern Syria.

On October 22, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Sochi, Russia, agreeing on the parameters of the proposed Turkish safe zone in northern Syria.

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The deal stipulates that the Kurdish militia of the SDF and its broader umbrella of the People's Protection Units will pull back 30 km south of Turkey's border within 150 hours.

Joint patrols by Turkish and Russian forces will cover the area, according to the deal.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)