VIDEO: Syrian army deploys tanks to Turkish border town after SDF withdrawal

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Syrian army on Tuesday sent military vehicles and a number of tanks to fill a vacuum left by the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the vicinity of the town of Kobani near the border with Turkey.

A Kurdistan 24 correspondent on the scene saw several trucks carrying tanks and soldiers of the Syrian government to the perimeter of Kobani, northern Syria. The government forces are expected to retake positions Damascus had held for years but deserted during the war-torn country’s civil war early in the decade.

The Syrian army’s entry into the region comes mainly based on a Russia-brokered agreement with the Kurdish-led SDF to take over positions on the border with Turkey as the latter withdrew further south.

This was after a Turkish military incursion in early October into northern and northeastern parts of Syria under the control of the SDF, with one of Ankara’s purported goals being the expulsion of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who lead the SDF, from the border regions.

Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it considers a terrorist organization.

The PKK began an insurgency against Ankara over 40 years ago for Kurdish rights and autonomy. Turkey and Syrian extremist militias it backs are alleged to have committed war crimes during the October assault on the Kurdish-led region.

After the US abandoned its long-time ally in the fight against the so-called Islamic State, the SDF turned to Russia and the Syrian government, with which it avoided confrontations since the start of the Syrian conflict. Moscow then sat at the negotiating table with Ankara, offering parts of the border areas to it as the Syrian government takes the rest, and the SDF retreats.

This was on guarantees that Turkish operations would cease. The SDF has repeatedly stated that Ankara continues attacks as the latter claims the former is yet to retreat fully.

After US troops left, effectively greenlighting the Turkish attack, they have now sent reinforcements to oil fields in Deir al-Zor province, also controlled by the SDF.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany