Kurdish forces say Turkey has violated ceasefire, Erdogan denies
One day after the agreement between Ankara and Washington to temporarily stop Turkey’s military operation in northeast Syria for five days, some media have reported conflicts near the city of Sari Kani.
According to Reuters, the sound of machine guns and bullets fired could be heard on Friday in Sari Kani and smoke is rising from the city.
However, after a meeting between Vice President Mike Pence and President Erdogan, it was announced that the military operation will be suspended for 5 days so the Kurdish forces could leave Turkey’s designated safe zone.
But the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by Kurds, have accused Turkey of bombarding the civilian areas and violating the ceasefire. The spokesperson for the Democratic forces said on Friday: “Despite the agreement to stop the conflicts, air force and the artillery continues to target military positions and civilian residents.”
On the other hand, President Erdogan says that currently there are no clashes in northeast Syria.
Turkey has agreed to allow the Syrian Democratic Forces to leave the designated safe zone.
Erdogan says the United States and Turkey are in constant communication in order to follow through the agreement.
Syria Human Rights Watch has confirmed artillery attacks by the Turkish army against Sari Kani. The organization announced that a medical caravan will travel to Sari Kani on Friday.
The commander of Syrian Democratic Forces said on Thursday that the group accepts the ceasefire, but believes it is only limited to the border areas between Sari Kani and Tell Abiad.
Yesterday, President Trump said the agreement will save millions of lives.
According to the United Nations, Turkey’s attack in the past eight days has led to the displacement of 300 thousand people and the death of at least 71.