Kurds evacuate Syrian town in initial pullout of cease-fire

AKCAKALE, Turkey — Dozens of vehicles rolled out of a besieged Syrian border town, evacuating Kurdish fighters and civilians and opening the way for Turkish-backed forces to take over in the first pullback under a three-day-old U.S.-brokered cease-fire. What’s happening

Kurdish officials say the evacuation of the town of Ras al-Ayn will be followed by a withdrawal of their forces from a broader section of the border with Turkey, a central requirement of the cease-fire deal.

The withdrawal is supposed to take place before Tuesday evening, when the pause in fighting is set to end.

Still, questions remain over longer-term arrangements. Turkey says it wants a “safe zone” clear of the Kurdish fighters — whom it considers terrorists — across the entire northeast border. That is far longer than the territory the Kurds will leave under the terms of the deal.

Why it’s happening

The Trump administration negotiated the accord after heavy criticism at home and abroad that it had opened the way for the Turkish invasion by abruptly removing its soldiers from northeast Syria. That move abandoned the Kurdish-led force, which was allied with the Americans in the bloody, years-long campaign that brought down the Islamic State group’s rule over nearly a third of Syria.

For the moment, the pullback focused on Ras al-Ayn, a town that has been a major battle zone since Turkey launched its invasion Oct. 9.

The cease-fire deal only calls for fighters to leave. But Kurdish civilians fled in the convoy as well, fearing atrocities by the Turkish-backed Syrian forces.

Cease-fire shaky

Both sides accuse each other of repeatedly violating the three-day old cease-fire. Turkey’s Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers was killed Sunday in a Kurdish attack near the border town of Tal Abyad.

That brought the Turkish military’s death toll to seven soldiers since it launched its offensive Oct. 9.

Khalil, the official in the Kurdish-led forces, said that after the Ras al-Ayn evacuation, the forces will withdraw from a zone about 75 miles wide and 20 miles deep between Ras al-Ayn and the town of Tal Abyad farther west.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Smoke billows from fires in Ras al-Ayn, Syria, on Sunday. The Kurds have evacuated the border town as part of the cease-fire.