Turkey slams Kurds-Assad deal, resumes shelling on north Syria
Following an announcement that Syrian regime forces would head north toward the Syria-Turkey border, two civilians lost their lives, and five were injured in ongoing Turkish airstrikes and artillery shelling on the region.
RAS AL-AIN (Kurdistan 24) – Following an announcement that Syrian regime forces would head north toward the Syria-Turkey border, two civilians lost their lives, and five were injured in ongoing Turkish airstrikes and artillery shelling on the region, local sources said on Monday.
Turkish warplanes hit several parts of Syria’s Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain in Arabic), where one civilian lost his life and two others were injured, sources told Kurdistan 24.
On the Turkish side, local sources told Kurdistan 24 that Turkey had sent reinforcements to northern Syria as its military operation continues. Turkey says it will not end its offensive until it achieves its goal of creating a so-called “safe zone.”
Some 50 kilometers to the east on the border with Turkey, Turkish artillery shelled the Syrian town of Dirbesiye, where one civilian lost his life, and three more were injured, local sources told Kurdistan 24.
The bombardment and shelling occurred after an agreement was announced between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian regime forces to deploy units of the Syrian Arab Army to the borderline to repel the Turkish aggression.
On Monday morning, Syrian government media reported that the Syrian army had entered the Tel Temir area, some 35 kilometers south of the Turkish border.
Kurdistan 24's @akramsalih7 is on the scene in Tel Temir, where #Syria has begun to advance north to repel Turkey's ongoing operation against Syrian Kurdish forces. #TwitterKurds pic.twitter.com/hHVycJ7uuF
— Kurdistan 24 English (@K24English) October 14, 2019
Syria’s state-run SANA said the forces advanced to the area “to confront the Turkish aggression,” without providing details.
The Kurdish-led self-administration in northern Syria confirmed on Sunday that it had reached a deal with Damascus and Moscow for the Syrian army to protect the nation’s northern border with Turkey after the United States announced it was withdrawing all remaining troops from the country.
Sources from the Turkish military forces said they might clash with the Syrian army and would not end their operation.
On Sunday, a Turkish airstrike killed 11 and injured over 70 when it hit a civilian convoy.
Turkish warplanes and artillery began shelling Syria’s predominantly Kurdish northeastern town of Serekaniye on Wednesday in an offensive Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called “Operation Peace Spring.”
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), at least 54 civilians have been killed since the start of the offensive.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany