Syrian Forces Enter Northeastern Towns after Deal with Kurds
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Syrian army troops entered Tabqah, Ain Issa and Tel Tamer in northeastern Syria after the Damascus government reached an agreement with Kurds in the region to deploy troops in the area, state media reported.
The deployment to Tabqah near Raqqah on Monday restores Syria’s foothold in an area that is home to a major hydroelectric dam.
The state television, in broadcasts from Ain Issa, showed residents welcoming the entry of the army troops.
Tel Tamer is 35 km southeast of Ras al-Ain which is currently under the control of Turkish troops. It is on a strategically important highway, the M4, that runs east to west. Turkish forces said they had seized the highway on Sunday.
Syrian Kurds on Sunday struck a deal with the government in Damascus on the deployment of Syrian army forces near the northern border after US troops pulled out of the region ahead of a Turkish incursion, Press TV reported.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said US warplanes had targeted a column of Syrian troops in the city of Raqqah in an apparent attempt to hinder their deployment to the north.
The US military also tried to hinder the dispatch of Syrian and Russian forces near Manbij, the London-based war monitoring group said.
Kurdish authorities said the deal “paves the way to liberate the rest of the Syrian cities occupied by the Turkish army such as Afrin” in northwest.
Ankara says the operation is meant to purge YPG militants, the backbone of the US-backed SDF militant group, which Turkey views as terrorists linked to local militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Residents of the northern city of Qamishli on Sunday celebrated the announcement that the Syrian troop deployment.
On Sunday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey’s incursion will stretch from Kobani in the west to Hasakeh in the east, going some 30 km (19 miles) into Syrian territory.
The Observatory said earlier Sunday that Turkish troops and their militant allies had entered Suluk, some 10 km from Turkey's border.
Turkish troops have so far seized control of 109 square km territory, including 17 villages around Tel Abyad and four villages around Ras al-Ain, Erdogan said.
