The operation launched by Turkey since Oct. 9 with Syrian deputies has opened a new front in Syria at war since 2011, when Kurdish forces partners with Westerners in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group were dropped by Washington.
Thursday night, after a diplomatic intervention by the United States, Turkey said it agreed to suspend for five days its offensive, calling for a withdrawal of Kurdish forces from its border to end it permanently.
But on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to resume the offensive, if "the promises" are not respected by Tuesday night. Donald Trump said that his Turkish counterpart had assured him, during a telephone conversation, that he was determined that the cease-fire in Syria should be applied, as well as the Kurds.
The tenant of the White House also said that "some" European countries were now ready to repatriate jihadists detained in Syria. " It's good news ".
European initiative
French President Emmanuel Macron announced in this context a "joint initiative" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to meet "soon" the Turkish leader.
For his part, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk denounced the Turkish-American agreement, considering it rather like "a request for capitulation for the Kurds".
Ankara continues its attacks
On the ground, the military operations are continuing already. Attacks by Turkish aviation and shelling by Syrian auxiliaries killed 14 civilians and 8 Kurdish forces fighters in Bab al-Kheir village and surrounding areas in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Man (OSDH).
Kurdish forces accused Ankara of violating the ceasefire. Sporadic fighting continues in the border town of Ras al-Ain.
"War crimes"
The Ankara offensive allowed Turkish forces and their Syrian counterparts to conquer a nearly 120-km border strip from Tal Abyad to Ras al-Ain.
The NGO Amnesty International has accused the Turkish army and pro-Turkish rebels of "shameful disregard for civilian lives", citing "overwhelming evidence of war crimes". The Kurdish authorities have already accused Ankara of using unconventional weapons, such as napalm, which Turkey denies.
On Friday, the Kurdish authorities were trying to dispatch relief to Ras al-Ain to evacuate the many wounded, said Hassan Amin, an official at Tal Tamr hospital, further south. The medical team was not allowed to enter the city, a refusal that the OSDH attributed to the pro-Turkish rebels.
Nearly 100 dead
The Turkish operation killed 86 civilians, and 239 SDF combatants, according to the latest OSDH assessment, which also indicates that 187 pro-Turkish fighters perished. About 300,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, according to the OSDH.
Turkey reported the deaths of six Turkish soldiers in Syria and 20 civilians killed in border towns by Syrian Kurdish fighters in response to its aggression.
The Turkish-American agreement provides for the establishment of a "security zone" 32 km wide in Syrian territory, from which the Kurdish forces must withdraw. The aim is to move the Kurdish militia away from the People's Protection Units (YPG), but also to settle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey.
The Turkish president reiterated on Friday that this zone should "extend in length over 444 km" and not only in areas where the Turkish forces have taken control.
Source: ATS
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