Christian fighters will deploy against Turk-backed advance
France sides with terrorists, say Turkey
BEIRUT, Nov 2, (Agencies): A Kurdish-led force says Christian fighters will now oversee security in a northern Syrian region that has witnessed fighting between Turkey-backed fighters and Kurdish-led militiamen.
The Syrian Democratic Forces said Saturday that the deployment will take place in villages close to the town of Tal Tamr in the Khabur river region. That area is home to Syria’s dwindling Christian Syriac and Assyrian communities.
Turkish-backed fighters have been advancing in the area since last month, leading to the displacement of about 200,000 people.
There have been concerns in Christian villages about possible atrocities by Turkey-backed fighters, which include former jihadists.
The SDF said it’s deploying the Syriac Military Council and Assyrian fighters in the Khabur river region. Both groups are part of the SDF.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned French Ambassador in Ankara Charles Fries in the aftermath of a resolution made by the French parliament on Ankara’s counter-terrorism operation in northern Syria.
The Turkish move came following the stance by the French Senate and National Assembly on the “Operation Peace Spring” in Syria, Turkish Anadolu Agency (AA) said.
The ministry slammed in a written statement the decision, saying that: “We strongly condemn and reject decisions by the French Senate and National Assembly about Operation Peace Spring.”, according to the agency.
“It is obvious that France took this decision after its plan to establish a terrorist state in Syria failed,” it said, adding that the French government and parliament had showed that they were on the side of the terrorists, the agency reported.
The ministry added that no country could give lessons to Turkey in combating the so-called Islamic State.
On Wednesday, the French parliament approved unanimously a decision deploring the military operation launched on Oct 9, with the aim of eliminating the terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River.
The Turkish step also seeks to secure Turkey’s borders and the safe return of Syrian refugees, and maintain Syria’s territorial integrity.
Around 132 Syrian National Army (SNA) soldiers were killed in attacks by The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG) militants as of Friday, since the launch of a Turkey-led antiterror operation in northern Syria, according to information compiled from SNA commanders.
The Turkish military and SNA continue with security activities to uphold peace in the region, said Anadolu Agency (AA).
After the operation was paused, SNA soldiers have been holding the front lines around northern Tal Abyad and Ras Al-Ayn districts and destroying improvised explosive devices recovered from terrorists, AA added.
According to SNA commanders, about 491 were also wounded amid continuing attacks by YPG and PKK since the launch of Operation Peace Spring.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 30 injured in the Syrian town of Tel Abyad on Turkey’s border after a car bomb exploded in a market on Saturday, according to Turkish state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.