BALADI NEWS
Activists reported a state of panic among the residents of the Kurdish-held territory near the Turkish border over an imminent Turkish military operation into northeastern Syria.
Hasaka-based activist Abdul-Malek al-Ali said tens of people have fled the town of Ras al-Ayn, or Sari Kani, into the southern countryside of border province. More people are due to leave, he added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Saturday to launch a military operation into northeastern Syria, where U.S. troops are deployed and have been trying to defuse tension between Washington's two allies — Ankara and the Syrian Kurds.
Erdogan's threats were a warning that a U.S.-Turkish deal to secure Syria's troubled border was faltering. He said the Turkish military operation against the U.S-backed Kurdish forces could begin "maybe today, maybe tomorrow."
"We have given all kinds of warning regarding the east of the Euphrates to the relevant parties. We have acted with enough patience," Erdogan said.
The Turkish leader has repeatedly expressed his frustration with Washington's support for Kurdish groups in Syria. His threats continued despite a deal reached with Washington in August to carry out joint patrols and move Syrian Kurdish fighters away from the border.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it is committed to the agreement between Turkey and the U.S. to preserve stability in the region.
Erdogan said his country wants to send in 2 million Syrian refugees to the area it has called a "safe zone." But the Syrian Kurdish group administering the area said only those from the area can return— a number likely to be much smaller than the 2 million suggested by Ankara.
Erdogan also demanded an answer from the U.S. on whether it will consider the Syrian Kurdish fighters, its erstwhile allies, "terrorists."
Source: Zaman Al-Wasl.