Turkish forces evacuate observation posts in Syria’s al-Hasakah: Monitor

Turkish forces evacuate observation posts in Syria’s al-Hasakah: Monitor
February 12, 2020, 10:52 am

A Turkish military personnel looks out the window of a military vehicle as it enters the Bab al-Hawa crossing at the Syrian-Turkish border, in Idlib governorate, Syria. (File photo Reuters)

Turkish forces evacuated their observation posts from the areas of the northeastern al-Hasakah province without giving any reasons, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor on Tuesday.

The British-based war monitor added that the Turkish forces withdrew from several villages in northeastern Syria, but it did not have information about why they had withdrawn.

On Wednesday, US troops also clashed with Syrian regime troops in the same region, added the monitor.

Turkish troops are present in northeastern Syria following their incursion into the area in 2019, aimed at displacing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and establishing a “safe zone” in the border region.

Turkey has an agreement with Russia to police northeastern Syria, where Turkish-aligned forces, the Syrian regime, and the SDF control different areas.

Meanwhile, clashes in Idlib, northwestern Syria, continued on Tuesday.

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