From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Turkish troops, Syrian rebels take over Kurdish town
Turkish media reports say Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels are securing a town in northeastern Syria after Syrian Kurdish fighters pulled out of the area.
The private DHA news agency says the Turkish soldiers and Syrian rebels are using heavy machinery to fill in tunnels dug by the Kurdish fighters in Ras al Ayn. They were also disposing of traps or explosives left behind.
Çekilme sonrası Resulayn'da son durum (Terör tünelleri kapatılıyor) https://t.co/KSxRtwGd4c pic.twitter.com/Y67C2lM4cU
— NTV (@ntv) October 23, 2019
The private NTV television, meanwhile, showed a group of Syrian rebels standing on the roof of a building that was reportedly the Syrian Kurdish fighters’ headquarters, unfurling the Turkish and Syrian opposition flags.
The move came after the US announced Syrian Kurdish fighters completed their pullout from Ras al Ayn and other areas Turkey invaded this month.
Separately, Russia and Turkey agreed on Tuesday to deploy their forces across nearly the entire northeastern Syria border to fill the void left by President Donald Trump’s abrupt withdrawal of US forces.
— AFP
The Times of Israel Community.