• Syria, Erdogan: via the Kurds or attack again. Assad in Idlib: "The Turkish president is a thief"
  • Syria, ultimatum of Turkey to the Kurds: "Let them retire by today"
  • Syria, Ong confirms the total withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the city of Ras Al-Ayn
  • Pentagon: US troops leaving Syria will go to Iraq

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22 October 2019

Turkey and Russia have concluded a "historic agreement" for a new 150-hour truce in northern Syria to complete the evacuation of Kurdish Ypg militias. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced it in Sochi at the end of his meeting with Vladimir Putin.

From 12 local tomorrow (11 in Italy) the Russian military police and Syrian border guards will enter the border area with Turkey on Syrian territory, outside the Turkish military operation area, to facilitate the evacuation from an area of ​​30 km from the border. The Ankara-Moscow joint patrols will begin after this truce phase. This is indicated by the memorandum of understanding signed by Erdogan and Putin.

Turkey-Russia patrols up to 10 km
Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols up to 10 km within the Syrian territory beyond the Turkish border, to the east and west of the area where the Turkish operation was conducted (northern Syria). Qamishli, the main Kurdish center in the area, is excluded.

Turkey will retain control of the offensive area
"The status quo established in the area of ​​the current Operation Peace Source between Tal Abyad and Ras al Ayn, with a depth of 32 km, will be preserved" indicates the memorandum of understanding.

Putin: "With Erdogan he took important decisions for Syria"
We have reached important decisions for Syria, the Russian president said during a joint press conference with the Turkish leader at the end of the long face to face meeting. The foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey will present the results of the talks on Syria between the two leaders.

"The Turkish operation does not benefit the terrorists"
"It is important that the actions of the Turkish armed forces do not take advantage of members of terrorist organizations, including ISIS, whose guerrillas are being held captive by the Kurdish armed formations and trying to free themselves," Putin said.

The Kurds announce the total withdrawal from the safe zone
The Kurdish-Syrian forces withdrew from the security zone in the north-east of the country as required by the Turkish-American agreement. Syrian and Pan-Arab media reports refer to Kurdish and US military sources. The Kurdish forces have informed those Americans that they have withdrawn their troops from the border area, the sources quoted by the pan-Arabian TV stations al Jazira and al Arabiya say.

The withdrawal from the Turkish security zone would be reported in a communication written by the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazlum Abdi Kobani, to US Vice-President Mike Pence, who five days ago had negotiated the truce in Ankara with President Erdogan.

Assad: L Erdogan is a thief, he steals our land
"Erdogan is a thief, he has stolen factories, grain and oil and today he steals the land," said Syrian President Bashar al Assad, according to reports from the Damascus presidency's Twitter account, while visiting the military in the region of Idlib. Assad is found along with the troops of the army of Damascus on the front lines in the city of Hobait, in the Idlib region. The area is still in the hands of rebels and jihadists.

Over 7,000 refugees arrived in Iraq in a week
Over 7,000 Syrian refugees arrived in Iraq in seven days. Since the former crossed the border from north-eastern Syria a week ago, the flow into Iraq continues, UNHCR said. The UN refugee agency states that most come from cities and villages from the north-east of Syria, the scene of the Turkish offensive. Three out of four are women and children and there are unaccompanied children.

Most of them have found refuge in the Bardarash refugee camp, about 140 kilometers east of the border, a note states. Some, especially children, need psycho-social assistance. UNHCR and its partners, with local authorities, are providing reception services, hot meals, transportation, registration, protection and identification of unaccompanied minors and people with specific needs. UNHCR recalls that before the latest arrivals, some 228,000 Syrian refugees had already found refuge in Iraq, forced to leave their homes for over eight years of conflict and destruction in Syria.