Now Assad troops ‘do deal with Kurd army’
SYRIAN troops were last night moving to confront the ‘Turkish aggression’ after embattled Kurdish fighters did an unprecedented deal with the Assad regime.
Russian-backed Syrian forces were poised to take over two Kurdishheld cities in northern Syria to save civilians from being slaughtered by the invading Turkish army.
In 2015, the Kurds drove Islamic State from the city of Kobane in a bloody battle that helped turn the tide against the terrorists.
The following year, they retook nearby Manbij – dubbed ‘ Little London’ as it was used by foreign fighters to plot their attacks against the West.
But last night it was claimed that the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been forced to ‘cut a deal’ with President Bashar al-Assad that would see the symbolic Kurdish cities handed over to the regime.
It was reported that the SDF, during talks at a Russian airbase, had agreed to surrender both in a bid to shield them from Turkish attacks.
The SDF’s Mustafa Bali would not confirm details of the deal, saying only: ‘We have confirmed from the start of the invasion that we will study all options that could spare our people ethnic cleansing.’
But state news channel SANA said: ‘Syrian army units are moving north to confront Turkish aggression on Syrian territory.’
The bloodshed began on Wednesday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved his forces into northern Syria after US President Donald Trump pulled American troops away from the border. Turkey said Operation Peace Spring was about targeting ‘terrorists’, but civilian casualties have been reported in their droves.
As northern Syria collapsed into chaos, Mr Trump ordered all US troops to withdraw from the area to avoid the conflict.
Hundreds of British Special Forces are expected to leave with them.
Last night, on the Turkey-Syria border, flames lit up the night sky as the town of Ras al-Ain burned from Turkish bombings.
Footage showed the horrifying aftermath of an airstrike that hit a mixed military and civilian convoy as it headed towards the town.
Lifeless bodies were scattered across the road, with others barely alive and whimpering in their bloodsoaked clothes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike killed 14 people, including five civilians, and wounded 10 others.
Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said the strike had hit a gathering of civilians who had come to Ras al-Ain from the city of Qamishli to show support as the town is targeted by Turkish forces.
Several foreign journalists were with the convoy when it was struck, according to a reporter from French broadcaster France 2.
Yesterday, US defence secretary Mark Esper said Mr Trump had ordered all troops to withdraw from the north to avoid the conflict that ‘gets worse by the hour’.
‘We have American forces likely caught between two opposing advancing armies and it’s a very untenable situation,’ he said.
‘In the last 24 hours, we learned that they [the Turks] likely intend to expand their attack further south than originally planned – and to the west.’
‘Worsens by the hour’