BALADI NEWS
Turkish and Russian troops in armoured vehicles held their first joint ground patrols in northeast Syria on Friday under a deal between the two countries that forced a Kurdish militia away from territory near Turkey’s border.
Turkey and allied Syrian rebels launched a cross-border offensive on Oct. 9 against the Kurdish YPG militia, seizing control of 120 km (75 miles) of land along the frontier.
Last week, Ankara and Moscow agreed to remove the militia fighters to a depth of at least 30 km (19 miles) south of the border and Russia has told Turkey that the YPG left the strip.
Turkish armoured vehicles on Friday drove through country roads across the border to join their Russian counterparts, according to Reuters television footage filmed from the Turkish side of the border. Around four hours later, they returned to Turkey, the footage showed.
Ground and air units were involved in the patrol in the area of the Syrian border town of Darbasiya, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Twitter, showing photos of soldiers studying a map and of four armoured vehicles.
Four Russian vehicles and a drone also took part in Friday’s patrol, conducted in an area between 40 km east of Ras al-Ain and 30 km west of Qamishli, a Turkish security source said.
The source said patrols would extend further along the border strip and that drones would be used to ensure that YPG fighters had left the area.
Source: Reuters.