Syrian govt forces deployed near Turkish border

DPA, 14TH OCTOBER, 2019 - Syrian government forces were deployed on Monday to Kurdish strongholds in north-eastern Syria following an agreement between the Kurds and Damascus to confront a Turkish incursion, a war monitor and state media said.

The move means Syrian troops are about 6 kilometres away from the Turkish border.

Syrian television aired pictures of people welcoming their troops in the town of Tal Tamer by throwing flowers.

Some were chanting “let Erdogan fail,” while others were holding pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-assad.

US President Donald Trump seems to be heading towards a complete military withdrawal from northern Syria, after he paved the way for the Turkish offensive against Washington’s Syrian Kurdish partners by pulling back some troops last week.

Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the US is “preparing to evacuate” all its troops from northern Syria “as safely and quickly as possible,” in an interview Sunday with broadcaster CBS.

Esper’s comments were a “positive approach,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before leaving on a two-day visit to Azerbaijan, also signalling there seemed to be no change to US troop withdrawal plans.

There are about 1,000 US forces throughout north-eastern Syria, top US military officials said recently. asked whether he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syria’s main military backer, about a deal between Damascus and Syrian Kurdish militias, Erdogan said he didn’t foresee a problem as Moscow too was “positive.”