Kurdish militia YPG has begun withdrawing from contested areas of northern Syria. "We have no more fighters in the city," wrote an SDF spokesperson on Twitter. The Turkish Ministry of Defense also announced on Sunday that it was following the developments. There are "no obstacles". Three days ago, Washington and Ankara had agreed a ceasefire to ensure the withdrawal of the militia.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that around 500 SDF fighters had withdrawn completely from the border town of Ras al-Ain. Before corpses and wounded were brought out of the village. The Turkish Ministry of Defense said a convoy of 55 vehicles had entered Ras al-Ain. After that, a convoy of 86 vehicles left the city in the direction of Tall Tamar.
Turkey launched an offensive against the YPG in northern Syria on 9 October, which it considers a terrorist organization. Turkey was neither asked for help by the Syrian government nor given a mandate by the UN Security Council. Ankara therefore justifies the invasion of the right to self-defense.
Erdogan wants to create a buffer zone about 500 kilometers long and 30 kilometers deep in the region, which will house up to two million Syrian refugees from Turkey (read more here).
US wants to relocate troops
Meanwhile, the withdrawal or the transfer of US troops from the area continues. This will take "weeks, not days," said US Defense Secretary Mark Esper aboard a flight to Afghanistan. This should be "very thoughtful and very safe" run. According to Esper, the soldiers will be transferred to Iraq and from there continue to participate in the fight against the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS). With the withdrawal from northern Syria, the US had paved the way for the Turkish invasion.
Humanitarian workers continued to paint a dramatic picture of the situation of the affected people. "Last week was a total mess for hundreds of thousands of Syrians," said Karl Schembri, spokesman for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the TV channel CNN International. "They live in fear and insecurity, without knowing where the next bomb will explode," said Schembri (read here a report on three people affected).
In just over a week, at least 165,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, including an estimated 70,000 children, according to recent data from the UN Emergency Relief Agency Ocha.