{"id":67565,"date":"2019-08-27T20:29:03","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T20:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/27\/us-backed-syrian-kurds-begin-pullout-near-turkish-border-as-part-of-safe-zone-deal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:07:52","slug":"us-backed-syrian-kurds-begin-pullout-near-turkish-border-as-part-of-safe-zone-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/08\/27\/us-backed-syrian-kurds-begin-pullout-near-turkish-border-as-part-of-safe-zone-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"US-backed Syrian Kurds begin pullout near Turkish border as part of \u2018safe zone\u2019 deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BEIRUT \u2014 The main U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia has begun withdrawing its fighters from two towns near Turkey\u2019s border, part of a deal for a so-called \u201csafe zone\u201d in northeastern Syria involving t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/08\/25\/work-begins-on-syria-safe-zone-to-separate-turkey-and-us-allied-kurdish-forces\/\" target=_blank>he U.S. and Turkey<\/a>, the Kurdish-led regional administration in northern Syria said Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey has been pressing for a safe zone, running east of the Euphrates River toward the Iraqi border, to push U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish militias away from its frontier. Turkey wants to control \u2014 in coordination with the U.S. \u2014 a 19-25 mile (30-40 kilometer) deep zone within civil war-ravaged Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey wants <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/07\/24\/turkey-not-satisfied-with-us-proposal-for-safe-zone-with-syrian-kurdish-fighters\/\" target=_blank>the region along its border <\/a>to be clear of Syrian Kurdish forces and has threatened on numerous occasions to launch a new operation in Syria against Syrian Kurdish forces if such a zone is not established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey sees the Syrian Kurdish fighters, who make up the majority of the Syrian Democratic Forces and are allied with the U.S., as terrorists aligned with a Kurdish insurgency within Turkey. American troops are stationed in northeast Syria, along with the Kurdish forces, and have fought the Islamic State group together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The differing positions on the Kurdish fighters have become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2019\/08\/06\/esper-us-intends-to-prevent-turkey-invasion-into-syria\/\" target=_blank>a major source of tension between NATO allies Turkey and the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/08\/07\/turkey-us-appear-closer-to-establishing-safe-zone-in-syria\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"185\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1131239065.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Turkey, US appear closer to establishing safe zone in Syria<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Turkey and the United States appeared Wednesday to be edging closer toward setting up a so-called safe zone in northeast Syria, saying they had agreed to form a joint operations center to coordinate and manage its establishment.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration said \u201cthe first step\u201d in these understandings began three days ago in the town of Ras al-Ayn, from where members of the militia known as YPG withdrew with their heavy weapons. The statement that was read by Zeidan al-Assi, head of defense office at the administration, added that similar steps were taken Monday in the border town of Tal Abyad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It said the Kurdish militia positions were taken over by local forces, without elaborating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Monday, Turkey\u2019s defense minister, Hulusi Akar, said Turkish and U.S. troops will soon begin joint patrols as part of a deal for a so-called \u201csafe zone.\u201d He said a joint helicopter flight has already taken place.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/08\/07\/turkish-military-move-into-syria-is-high-risk\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1129216142cc.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Turkish military move into Syria is high risk<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Turkey\u2019s combative president is threatening to launch a military operation in northeastern Syria that is designed to push back U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces \u2014 an invasion that carries major risks for a highly combustible region in war-devastated Syria.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In northwest Syria, Syrian insurgents launched counterattacks Tuesday in and near areas recently taken by government forces in the country\u2019s last remaining rebel region, after a series of setbacks they suffered in recent weeks, opposition activists said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fierce fighting killed more than 50 fighters on both sides, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It also underscored that President Bashar Assad\u2019s forces will face a long, hard fight as they try to chip away at the last rebel-held territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The counterattacks began early in the morning and government forces called in Syria\u2019s air force to repel them, the Observatory said. It said 29 Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen were killed, as well as 23 insurgents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The insurgents captured two villages, Salloumieh and Abu Omar, and pushed into the nearby village of Sham al-Hawa, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ibaa media outlet of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group said its fighters were attacking Syrian positions east of Khan Sheikhoun, a major town that was held by rebels until they lost it last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pro-government activists said on social media that Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen are repelling the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Syrian government forces captured wide areas from insurgents over the past weeks in an offensive that began on April 30. The areas taken include all rebel-held parts of Hama province as well as villages on the southern edge of Idlib, the last remaining rebel stronghold in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuesday\u2019s clashes came after Syrian warplanes pounded the rebel-held town of Maaret al-Numan and nearby villages over the past two days \u2014 their likely next target for takeover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maaret al-Numan, like Khan Sheikhoun, sits on the highway linking Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria\u2019s largest. Government forces are trying to eventually open that highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taher al-Omar, a citizen journalist with the al-Qaida-linked militants, wrote on social media that they have carried out several suicide attacks so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The months of fighting have displaced more than half a million civilians toward northern parts of Idlib, already home to some 3 million people, according to U.N. humanitarian officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elsewhere in northern Syria, a bomb exploded on a minibus, killing two people and wounding nine near the town of Azaz. The town is controlled by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters, according to pro-government media and the Azaz media center, an activist collective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The main U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia has begun withdrawing its fighters from two towns near Turkey\u2019s border, part of a deal for a so-called safe zone in northeastern Syria involving the U.S. and Turkey, the Kurdish-led regional administration in northern Syria said Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":102663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,12,26,62],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1230],"class_list":["post-67565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IB6KUD4F2NFSPC27F4OUM2RKN4","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2019\/08\/27\/us-backed-syrian-kurds-begin-pullout-near-turkish-border-as-part-of-safe-zone-deal\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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