Syrian government forces and the Turkish military clashed on Tuesday for the first time since Ankara launched an offensive in northeastern Syria three weeks ago, AFP reported, citing a war monitor.
“Heavy fighting erupted for the first time between the Syrian and Turkish armies,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The Britain-based monitoring group said artillery and machinegun fire was exchanged near the village of Assadiya, south of the border town of Ras al-Ain.
At least six Syrian soldiers were wounded in the fighting, the Observatory said.
The Turkish military and its Syrian proxies attacked Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria on Oct. 9 with the aim of creating a roughly 30-kilometer-deep (20 mile) buffer zone.
Kurdish forces agreed to withdraw from a 120-kilometer-long (75 mile), Arab-majority segment of the 440-kilometer (275 mile) border zone, although clashes have been reported since.
Turkey subsequently reached a deal with the Syrian government’s main backer, Russia, for Kurdish forces to pull back from the entire border area.
Left in the lurch by a US troop withdrawal from the border area, Kurdish forces turned to the government for protection.
Government forces are now expected to deploy along much of the border zone, but a 10-kilometer-deep strip is to be jointly patrolled by Russian and Turkish troops, starting from Tuesday.
The post Syrian gov’t forces, Turkish troops clash in northern Syria: report appeared first on Turkish Minute.
from Turkish Minute https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/10/29/syrian-govt-forces-turkish-troops-clash-in-northern-syria-report/
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