The regional administration in northern Syria dominated by the PKK's Syrian affiliate says the People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists have started withdrawing from a town near Turkey's border.

The withdrawal is concerned with a 5 to 14 kilometer-wide strip along the border, Mustafa Bali, a member of the terrorist YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said Tuesday.

The first step began three days ago in Ras al-Ayn, from where YPG terrorists withdrew with their heavy weapons and removed some earth mounds.

On Monday, they repeated the same steps in Tal Abyad, "showing the seriousness of our commitment to current understandings" on the buffer zone.

The town is located across Akçakale district in Turkey's southeastern Şanlıurfa province, where a U.S.-Turkey operations center aimed at creating the buffer area was recently established.

As per U.S.-Turkish talks for a safe zone in northeastern Syria, the width of the border strip will vary and will include rural areas or military positions, not cities or towns, Bali told Reuters.

It says the YPG's positions were taken over by local forces, without elaborating.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) previously issued a statement on Aug. 23 and said "Within 24 hours of the phone call between United States Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and Turkish Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) to discuss security in northeast Syria, the SDF destroyed military fortifications, Aug. 22. This demonstrates the SDF's commitment to support implementation of the security mechanism framework" on the official Twitter account.

A source familiar with the talks told Reuters that although Washington and Ankara were still discussing how deep the zone would go, they had agreed to start work on one stretch of the border.

"The safety mechanism arrangement is being implemented in phases," the source said, adding that arrangements would vary at different parts of the border.

The source said U.S.-Turkish joint patrols will monitor the removal of heavy weapons, fortifications and tunnels, along with YPG presence between the two Syrian border towns about 100 kilometers (60 miles) apart.

That stretch is around a quarter of the whole border that could be covered by the zone, which Turkey says should extend 32 kilometers (20 miles) inside Syria.

A senior Turkish official said Ankara and Washington had bridged some, but not all, of their differences.

"There was a rapprochement, but our insistence on the 20 miles persists. The United States has taken steps to improve this, but they are still not enough," the official said. "It is not possible for us to accept the SDF's presence there."

Turkey has been pressing for a safe zone, running east of the Euphrates River toward the Iraqi border, to push U.S.-allied YPG terrorists away from its frontier. On Monday, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkish troops would soon enter northeast Syria.

"Our armed drones, drones and helicopters are in the region," he said.

"We expect our ground troops to enter the region very soon," he told supporters in eastern Turkey.

On Saturday, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the joint operations center was at "full capacity."

He said the first joint helicopter flight took place on Saturday afternoon.

The SDF, with the YPG at its forefront, controls much of north and east Syria, after seizing territory from Daesh terrorists in a campaign backed by U.S.-led coalition. </s> BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Kurdish YPG militia will pull forces and heavy weapons from a strip along Syria’s border with Turkey under U.S.-Turkish deals, an official in the YPG-led alliance said on Tuesday.

The YPG withdrew from some border positions in recent days, proving it is serious about ongoing talks, the Kurdish-led authority running north and east Syria also said.

The developments were a sign of progress in talks between the United States and Turkey aimed at resolving deep differences over the presence in the border area of Kurdish fighters — allies of the United States that Turkey sees as enemies.

After Ankara repeatedly warned it would launch a military incursion into northeast Syria to push back the YPG from the border, Turkey and the United States said this month they had agreed on the first stages of a security deal along the border.

The two countries gave no details of the deal on what Turkey has called a ‘safe zone’ inside Syria. It followed months of stalemate over how far the zone should extend into northeast Syria, still a main point of friction, and who should command forces patrolling it.

The YPG spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which controls much of north and east Syria. U.S. troops have been stationed in the SDF region for years, training and arming the fighters who seized territory from Islamic State.

President Donald Trump said late last year he would withdraw the U.S. troops, but has so far held back from doing so, in part to ensure that the Kurds are protected.

U.S. support for the YPG has enraged Turkey, which deems the militia a security threat linked to Kurdish insurgents at home.

SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told Reuters the strip along the border would vary between 5 and 14 km (3-9 miles) and will include rural areas or military positions, not cities or towns.

The YPG and SDF will dismantle barricades there and hand over control to military councils of local fighters, he said.

Bali said Turkish and U.S.-led coalition forces would patrol the border strip but be based inside Turkey. The deal creates “a security mechanism, not safe zone, that assuages Turkey’s claims of fearing over its national security,” he added.

Ankara has already sent its military twice into northern Syria to push YPG fighters from its borders in recent years.

A source familiar with the talks told Reuters that although Washington and Ankara were still discussing how deep the zone would go, they had agreed to start work on one stretch of the border.

“The safety mechanism arrangement is being implemented in phases,” the source said, adding that arrangements would vary at different parts of the border.

The source said U.S.-Turkish joint patrols will monitor the removal of heavy weapons, fortifications and tunnels, along with YPG presence between Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain, two Syrian border towns about 100 km (60 miles) apart.

That stretch is around a quarter of the whole border that could be covered by the zone, which Turkey says should extend 20 miles (32 km) inside Syria.

A senior Turkish official said Ankara and Washington had bridged some, but not all, of their differences.

“There was a rapprochement, but our insistence on the 20 miles persists. The United States has taken steps to improve this, but they are still not enough,” the official said. “It is not possible for us to accept the SDF’s presence there.”

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkish ground troops would enter the planned zone “very soon,” after setting up a joint military center with Washington to oversee the operation at the weekend. Turkish drones and helicopters had already flown over the region, he said.

Erdogan said Turkey had made all preparations to carry out its own plans if its expectations are not met.

The YPG has withdrawn from Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain, the authority running the SDF region said on Tuesday. The move shows commitment to “reaching a solution through dialogue,” the statement said. </s> The reports specified that the contingent of troops were previously stationed in northwestern parts of the Raqqa Governorate, not the provincial capital, and are now positioned in the border city of Ras al-Ayn in al-Hasakah province.

Soldiers from the French Army entered the city of Manbij – which has been identified as a future target for Turkey’s cross-border military operation in Syria – and the border town of Tell Abyad, on April 3, after US troops withdrew to other SDF-controlled parts of the country.

READ MORE: French Soldiers Enter Parts of Northern Syria as US Troops Withdraw — Reports

The rotation of US forces with French troops offers a likely explanation to US President Donald Trump’s comments about leaving Syria “to let others take care of it,” though this is yet to be confirmed by anyone in his administration.

The Syrian government has repeatedly condemned Turkey’s offensive on its soil as a breach of its sovereignty.

Turkey considers the SDF to have ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – which has long been designated a terror organization by the EU, the US, and Turkey – and believes the group’s presence near its southern border poses a national security threat. </s> The Kurdish YPG militia will pull forces and heavy weapons from a strip along Syria's border with Turkey under U.S.-Turkish deals, an official in the YPG-led alliance said on Tuesday. 



The YPG withdrew from the Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain border positions in recent days, proving it is serious about ongoing talks, the Kurdish-led authority in north and east Syria said.

The withdrawal marks a sign of progress in talks between Washington and Ankara seeking to resolve deep differences over the presence along the border of Kurdish fighters -- U.S. allies that Turkey sees as enemies.After Ankara repeatedly warned it would launch a military incursion into northeast Syria targeting the YPG, Turkey and the United States said this month they had agreed on the first stages of a security deal along the border.The two countries gave no details of the deal on what Turkey has called a "safe zone" inside Syria. It followed months of stalemate over how far the zone should extend into northeast Syria, still a main source of friction, and who should command forces patrolling it.A senior Turkish official and a top Syrian Kurdish official said points of contention remain over the zone, which Turkey wants to extend 20 miles (32 km) into Syria.The YPG spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which controls much of north and east Syria. U.S. troops have been stationed in the region for years, training and arming the fighters who seized territory from Islamic State.President Donald Trump announced late last year he would withdraw the U.S. troops, sparking fears among the Kurds of a Turkish attack, but has so far held back from doing so.U.S. support for the YPG has enraged Turkey, which deems the Syrian Kurdish fighters a security threat linked to Kurdish insurgents at home.SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told Reuters the strip along the border would vary between 5 and 14 km (3-9 miles) and will include rural areas or military positions, not cities or towns.The YPG and SDF will dismantle barricades there and hand over control to military councils of local fighters, he said.Bali said Turkish and U.S.-led coalition forces would patrol the border strip but be based inside Turkey. The deal creates "a security mechanism, not safe zone, that assuages Turkey's claims of fearing over its national security," he added.Senior Kurdish official Badran Jia Kurd said there was no "final deal yet as the talks are ongoing, and the threat remains." He said the YPG move shows commitment to the agreements.Ankara has already sent its military twice into northern Syria to drive the YPG from its borders in recent years. </s> ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The People’s Protection Units (YPG) this week removed fortifications, forces, and heavy weapons from the northern border area between Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tal Abyad as part of a new mechanism agreed upon between Turkey and the US.

On Aug. 7, 2019, Turkey and the US agreed on a new security mechanism designed to address the former’s concerns regarding northeastern Syria. On Saturday, the Turkey-US Joint Operations Center (JOC) officially started its work in the province of Şanlıurfa, which borders Kobani.

“On the 24, we began practical steps in Serekaniye (Ras al Ain) and removed some military fortifications and began withdrawing a YPG unit and heavy weaponry to new areas, handing over border points to local forces,” Zidane Al-Assi, Head of the Defense Committee of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, said in a statement on Tuesday.

On Aug. 24, one Turkish and one US general flew on the same helicopter over the area as part of the agreement.

According to the official Twitter account of the US Central Command, the leadership of the US military, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began dismantling military fortifications on Aug. 22, just one day after a phone call between the US Secretary of Defense and the Turkish Minister of Defense.

“This demonstrates the SDF’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the security mechanism framework,” CENTCOM said.

On Aug. 26, similar steps were taken in the town of Tal Abyad.

“These procedures were done to ensure our commitment to these understandings and to show how we are interested in a reaching a solution by way of a peaceful dialogue with neighboring countries,” the security head al Assi said. </s> The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syrian said Tuesday their forces had started to withdraw from outposts along the Turkish border after a US-Turkish deal for a buffer zone there.

They said work had begun Saturday on “the first practical steps -- in the Ras al-Ain area -- in removing some earth mounds and withdrawing a group of (Kurdish) People’s Protection Units and heavy weapons.”

The so-called “safe zone” agreed by Washington and Ankara earlier this month aims to create a buffer between the Turkish border and Syrian areas controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a group Ankara sees as “terrorists.” </s> BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia has pulled forces and heavy weapons from some positions at the border with Turkey, showing its commitment to ongoing talks, the Kurdish-led authority running much of north and east Syria said.

Turkey and Washington agreed this month to create a joint center for the planned safe zone along Syria’s northeastern border, but gave few details on the size of the zone or the command structure of the forces to operate there.

The YPG withdrew from the Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain areas in recent days, proving it is serious about “reaching a solution through dialogue,” the Kurdish-led authority said. </s> BEIRUT: The Kurdish YPG militia will pull forces and heavy weapons from a strip along Syria's border with Turkey under US-Turkish deals, an official in the YPG-led alliance said on Tuesday (Aug 27).

The YPG withdrew from some border positions in recent days, proving it is serious about ongoing talks, the Kurdish-led authority running much of north and east Syria also said.

Turkey and Washington agreed this month to create a coordination centre for a planned "safe zone" in northeast Syria along the border, including joint patrols. But they gave few details on the zone's size or the command structure of the forces to operate there.

A main point of friction has been how deep the zone would extend into northeast Syria under the deal, which includes joint patrols and will come into effect in phases.

SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told Reuters the width of the strip would vary along the border between 5km and 14km and will include rural areas or military positions, not cities or towns.

The YPG and SDF will dismantle barricades "of defensive nature" there, and will hand over control to military councils of local fighters, he said.

Turkey has repeatedly said it would not tolerate any delays to the deal by US officials, warning it will mount a cross-border offensive on its own to clear its borders if necessary.

Ankara has already sent its military twice into northern Syria to push the Kurdish fighters from its borders in recent years.

US support for the YPG has enraged Turkey, which deems the militia a security threat linked to Kurdish insurgents at home.

The YPG spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which controls north and east Syria, after defeating Islamic State militants with US help.

Bali said Turkish and US-led coalition forces would patrol the border strip but be based inside Turkey.

The deal creates "a security mechanism, not safe zone, that assuages Turkey's claims of fearing over its national security," he said.

The YPG already withdrew from the Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain areas, the authority running the SDF region said. The move shows commitment to "reaching a solution through dialogue," the statement said.

About 2,000 US troops have been stationed in the SDF region for years, training and arming the fighters in the battle against Islamic State. </s> "Those who get into bed with terrorists and even welcome them at their palaces will sooner or later see the mistake they have made.

Turkish president's comments come after a delegation of Kurdish fighters in Syria met French President Emmanuel Macron.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected a French offer to mediate between Turkey and Kurdish fighters in Syria that have been blacklisted by Ankara.His comments on Friday came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a delegation of Kurdish fighters in Paris and offered to mediate between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - an umbrella group of fighters dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) - and the Turkish government.Erdogan said at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in the capital, Ankara."Those who host at the highest level the members of a terrorist organisation, which has been freely carrying out its activities in their countries, should be aware that this is nothing but an expression of hostility against Turkey," he said.Turkey considers France does not have the right to complain about the actions of any armed group on its soil after meeting with the representatives of the PYD and the YPG, the Turkish leader said.against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL , also known as ISIS) group in Syria, in a partnership that has infuriated Turkey.Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said Ankara "does not see everything eye-to-eye with international coalition members" when it comes to the fight against ISIL in Syria."Especially cooperating with SDF, that is something critical, a taboo for Turkey," she said.Koseoglu added that Turkish officials see such mediation efforts "as an attempt to legitimise the PKK and YPG under the name of SDF in terms of fighting against ISIL".Erdogan's comments on Friday came less than two weeks after Turkish forces and Free Syrian Army rebels drove YPG fighters from Afrin city in northern Syria.Also at the AK Party meeting, Erdogan saidHe said Ankara would expand its military operations to Ayn al-Arab, Tal Abyad, Rasulayn and Hasakah, a stretch of northern Syria under Kurdish control, which has been described as a "terror corridor".Erdogan added that Turkish forces could even enter Iraq's Sinjar province "all of a sudden" and "deal with the terrorists there."
YPG units withdraw from Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ayn as the first stage of the Northern Syria Buffer Zone agreement enters into effect.