Turkey on Saturday accused Kurdish forces of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-plans-presence-across-northeast-syria-says-erdogan-256798">violating an agreement to suspend its Syria offensive</a> if they withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border.

"The Turkish armed forces fully abide by the agreement" reached on Thursday with the United States, the defence ministry said in a statement.

"Despite this, terrorists... carried out a total of 14 attacks in the last 36 hours."

Watch: Turkish President Erdogan reacts after US-Turkey deal

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The ministry said 12 of the attacks came from Ras al-Ain in northeastern Syria, one from Tal Abyad and another from Tal Tamr region, adding that various light and heavy weaponry including rockets were used.

Turkey had agreed to suspend its Syria offensive for five days but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday he would resume a full-scale operation against Kurdish forces if they do not withdraw from a border "safe zone."

The defence ministry said "for the agreement to hold soundly and to keep the calm with exception of self-defence", Turkey was coordinating with the United States.&nbsp;

Turkey on Saturday accused Kurdish forces of violating an agreement to suspend its Syria offensive if they withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border. "The Turkish armed forces fully abide by the agreement" reached on Thursday with the United States, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Turkey on Saturday accused Kurdish forces of violating an agreement to suspend its Syria offensive if they withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border. "The Turkish armed forces fully abide by the agreement" reached on Thursday with the United States, the defence ministry said in a statement. "Despite this, terrorists... carried out a total of 14 attacks in the last 36 hours." Watch: Turkish President Erdogan reacts after US-Turkey deal × The ministry said 12 of the attacks came from Ras al-Ain in northeastern Syria, one from Tal Abyad and another from Tal Tamr region, adding that various light and heavy weaponry including rockets were used. Turkey had agreed to suspend its Syria offensive for five days but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday he would resume a full-scale operation against Kurdish forces if they do not withdraw from a border "safe zone." The defence ministry said "for the agreement to hold soundly and to keep the calm with exception of self-defence", Turkey was coordinating with the United States.

'Terrorists carried out 14 attacks in last 36 hours': Turkey accuses Syrian Kurd forces of violating ceasefire

The Temporary Pause To Turkey's Military Offensive In Syria Fails To Stop Violence On The Ground On Thursday, the U.S. reached a deal with Turkey for a 120-hour long temporary ceasefire.

Gravitas: Trump's Misadventure In Syria: Fighting Continues In Northern Syria

The Inside Story Of The Precarious, Temporary Truce In Turkey's Invasion Of Syria Now, there is a temporary ceasefire in West Asia. Turkey has agreed to not target North East Syria for 12 hours.

Gravitas: Temporary Truce In Syria: What Transpired Behind The Scenes?

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he allowed<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-agrees-with-us-to-pause-syria-assault-while-kurds-withdraw-256571"> Turkish and Kurdish forces to clash</a> in deadly battle because the two sides were like children who needed to fight each other.

"It was unconventional what I did. I said they're going to have to fight a little while," Trump told a rally of supporters in Texas.

"Like two kids in a lot, you have got to let them fight and then you pull them apart.

"They fought for a few days and it was pretty vicious."

Trump triggered the week-long Turkish offensive against the Kurds by withdrawing US troops from northeast Syria.

More than 500 people have been killed including dozens of civilians, mostly on the Kurdish side, and 300,000 civilians have been displaced within Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

Trump stressed that "not one drop of American blood" was shed.

On Thursday, Turkey -- after talks with US Vice President Mike Pence -- agreed to suspend its offensive and to end the assault if Kurdish-led forces withdraw from a safe zone along the border.

"We went there and we said we want a pause, and the Kurds have been terrific. They're going to move back a little bit," Trump said.

"We are going to keep ISIS (the Islamic State group) nice and locked up. We are going to find more of them, and Turkey is all set."

Trump has faced accusations even from usually loyal supporters that his withdrawal of 1,000 US troops betrayed Kurdish militants who bore the brunt of the fight against Islamic State in recent years.

Brett McGurk, former presidential special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, described Trump's remarks about "two kids" fighting as "obscene and ignorant."

"200k innocent people displaced. Hundreds dead. Credible reports of war crimes. ISIS prisoners escaping. US evacuating and bombing its own positions or handing them to Russia. Two kids in a lot?" he said on Twitter.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he allowed Turkish and Kurdish forces to clash in deadly battle because the two sides were like children who needed to fight each other.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he allowed Turkish and Kurdish forces to clash in deadly battle because the two sides were like children who needed to fight each other. "It was unconventional what I did. I said they're going to have to fight a little while," Trump told a rally of supporters in Texas. "Like two kids in a lot, you have got to let them fight and then you pull them apart. "They fought for a few days and it was pretty vicious." Trump triggered the week-long Turkish offensive against the Kurds by withdrawing US troops from northeast Syria. More than 500 people have been killed including dozens of civilians, mostly on the Kurdish side, and 300,000 civilians have been displaced within Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. Trump stressed that "not one drop of American blood" was shed. On Thursday, Turkey -- after talks with US Vice President Mike Pence -- agreed to suspend its offensive and to end the assault if Kurdish-led forces withdraw from a safe zone along the border. "We went there and we said we want a pause, and the Kurds have been terrific. They're going to move back a little bit," Trump said. "We are going to keep ISIS (the Islamic State group) nice and locked up. We are going to find more of them, and Turkey is all set." Trump has faced accusations even from usually loyal supporters that his withdrawal of 1,000 US troops betrayed Kurdish militants who bore the brunt of the fight against Islamic State in recent years. Brett McGurk, former presidential special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, described Trump's remarks about "two kids" fighting as "obscene and ignorant." "200k innocent people displaced. Hundreds dead. Credible reports of war crimes. ISIS prisoners escaping. US evacuating and bombing its own positions or handing them to Russia. Two kids in a lot?" he said on Twitter.

Trump says Turkey and Kurds needed to fight 'like two kids'

Turkey agreed with the United States to suspend its deadly offensive in northern Syria, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promising to end the assault if Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border.

From Ankara's point of view, this would allow Erdogan to kill two birds with one stone -- easing its refugee burden and pushing Kurdish militants away from Turkey's southern border.

Thursday's agreement on a 120-hour suspension came just over week after Ankara launched its cross-border operation against the Kurdish YPG militia on October 9.

Experts say Turkey still wants a "safe zone" on the same terms proposed before, while others argue it is difficult for Ankara to physically establish the area.

- What is the 'safe zone'? -

Before launching the operation, the Turkish government said it wanted a zone that would be 30 kilometres deep and run over 400 kilometres (300 miles) along northern Syria.

Erdogan has previously said this zone would then allow two to three million Syrian refugees to return to their country.&nbsp;

The issue has become a priority for the Turkish leader, who has faced a growing popular backlash over the presence of 3.6 million Syrian refugees in the country -- the highest number in the world.

The new zone would also be a buffer area against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a Western-allied fighting force which has played a key role in the battle against the Islamic State group and other jihadists.

Ankara sees the YPG as a dangerous offshoot of what it considers Kurdish "terrorists" in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) behind a decades-long insurgency against the state.

The "safe zone" was first publicly mooted earlier this year by President Donald Trump in a subsequently failed bid to stop Erdogan launching his operation.

US Vice President Mike Pence said after talks with Erdogan on Thursday that the YPG would withdraw "outside the 20-mile mark" but did not give further details.

- What has changed? -

James Jeffrey, the US special representative on Syria, said the status on the ground had now changed since Turkish forces entered Syria with their Syrian proxies.

"What we have now is a different situation where the Turks have pushed down to that 30 kilometre level in a central part of the northeast and they're still fighting in there," he said on board Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's plane on Thursday.

"The YPG elements in these areas that the Turks control will withdraw south of that area. That's basically the 30-kilometre area which is also the roads M4, M10," he said.

Turkish media have reported that Ankara aims to take control of a swathe of territory 120 kilometres (75 miles) long and 30 kilometres deep into Syria, up to the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.&nbsp;

Tal Abyad was captured last week by Turkey and its proxy forces but clashes continue in Ras al-Ain.

Turkey still wanted any final "safe zone" to be 444 kilometres long, Erdogan told reporters on Friday.

Hasan Unal, foreign policy analyst at Istanbul's Maltepe University, said the zone first proposed by Turkey remained Ankara's goal which includes the northern Syrian city of Manbij, the town of Kobane and the area up to the Iraq border to the east.

But this might prove difficult since Syrian regime forces have entered Manbij and Kobane after a deal with the Kurds, who sought protection from the Turkish assault.

Unal said it was likely the United States would "keep coming with different interpretations of the compromise", pointing to previous US-Turkey agreements in northern Syria.

In August, American and Turkish officials agreed to set up a buffer zone on the Turkey-Syria border but Ankara was unhappy with the lack of concrete developments.

However, Unal said future developments in Syria involving Turkey depended on the outcome of the meeting between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin next Tuesday.

"What might happen with regards to Turkish action in northeast Syria, Turkish-Syrian relations, with regard to Turkish attitudes towards a new Syria seems to largely depend on that (meeting)," he said, adding that no "miracle" should be expected.

- Can it really be set up? -

According to Anthony Skinner, director at the risk assessment firm Verisk Maplecroft, too many unanswered questions remained over Ankara's ability to control the zone.

"Turkey has not been able to secure the funding it wants to be able to develop the infrastructure for this resettlement programme to succeed," he told AFP.

And, Skinner added, "it is unclear how a sufficiently robust non-Turkish force could be sustained on the ground in the longer term to keep the peace at a local level".

Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said last month that it would not be possible to send three million people to the proposed region because the liveable area was "limited". 
&nbsp;

Turkey agreed with the United States to suspend its deadly offensive in northern Syria, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promising to end the assault if Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border.

Turkey agreed with the United States to suspend its deadly offensive in northern Syria, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promising to end the assault if Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone" along the border. From Ankara's point of view, this would allow Erdogan to kill two birds with one stone -- easing its refugee burden and pushing Kurdish militants away from Turkey's southern border. Thursday's agreement on a 120-hour suspension came just over week after Ankara launched its cross-border operation against the Kurdish YPG militia on October 9. Experts say Turkey still wants a "safe zone" on the same terms proposed before, while others argue it is difficult for Ankara to physically establish the area. - What is the 'safe zone'? - Before launching the operation, the Turkish government said it wanted a zone that would be 30 kilometres deep and run over 400 kilometres (300 miles) along northern Syria. Erdogan has previously said this zone would then allow two to three million Syrian refugees to return to their country. The issue has become a priority for the Turkish leader, who has faced a growing popular backlash over the presence of 3.6 million Syrian refugees in the country -- the highest number in the world. The new zone would also be a buffer area against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a Western-allied fighting force which has played a key role in the battle against the Islamic State group and other jihadists. Ankara sees the YPG as a dangerous offshoot of what it considers Kurdish "terrorists" in Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) behind a decades-long insurgency against the state. The "safe zone" was first publicly mooted earlier this year by President Donald Trump in a subsequently failed bid to stop Erdogan launching his operation. US Vice President Mike Pence said after talks with Erdogan on Thursday that the YPG would withdraw "outside the 20-mile mark" but did not give further details. - What has changed? - James Jeffrey, the US special representative on Syria, said the status on the ground had now changed since Turkish forces entered Syria with their Syrian proxies. "What we have now is a different situation where the Turks have pushed down to that 30 kilometre level in a central part of the northeast and they're still fighting in there," he said on board Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's plane on Thursday. "The YPG elements in these areas that the Turks control will withdraw south of that area. That's basically the 30-kilometre area which is also the roads M4, M10," he said. Turkish media have reported that Ankara aims to take control of a swathe of territory 120 kilometres (75 miles) long and 30 kilometres deep into Syria, up to the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain. Tal Abyad was captured last week by Turkey and its proxy forces but clashes continue in Ras al-Ain. Turkey still wanted any final "safe zone" to be 444 kilometres long, Erdogan told reporters on Friday. Hasan Unal, foreign policy analyst at Istanbul's Maltepe University, said the zone first proposed by Turkey remained Ankara's goal which includes the northern Syrian city of Manbij, the town of Kobane and the area up to the Iraq border to the east. But this might prove difficult since Syrian regime forces have entered Manbij and Kobane after a deal with the Kurds, who sought protection from the Turkish assault. Unal said it was likely the United States would "keep coming with different interpretations of the compromise", pointing to previous US-Turkey agreements in northern Syria. In August, American and Turkish officials agreed to set up a buffer zone on the Turkey-Syria border but Ankara was unhappy with the lack of concrete developments. However, Unal said future developments in Syria involving Turkey depended on the outcome of the meeting between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin next Tuesday. "What might happen with regards to Turkish action in northeast Syria, Turkish-Syrian relations, with regard to Turkish attitudes towards a new Syria seems to largely depend on that (meeting)," he said, adding that no "miracle" should be expected. - Can it really be set up? - According to Anthony Skinner, director at the risk assessment firm Verisk Maplecroft, too many unanswered questions remained over Ankara's ability to control the zone. "Turkey has not been able to secure the funding it wants to be able to develop the infrastructure for this resettlement programme to succeed," he told AFP. And, Skinner added, "it is unclear how a sufficiently robust non-Turkish force could be sustained on the ground in the longer term to keep the peace at a local level". Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said last month that it would not be possible to send three million people to the proposed region because the liveable area was "limited".

What is the 'safe zone' Turkey wants in Syria?

Airstrikes by Turkey and mortar fire by its proxies killed nine more civilians near a flashpoint town in northeastern Syria, bringing Friday's civilian death toll to 14, a monitor said.

"Air strikes and mortar rounds Friday killed 14 civilians... in Bab el-Kheir and nearby villages," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shelling-heard-around-syrian-town-after-turkish-us-ceasefire-deal-256640">Deadly Turkish airstrikes </a>shattered an hours-old US-brokered deal to stop Ankara's military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-agrees-with-us-to-pause-syria-assault-while-kurds-withdraw-256571">ceasefire announced late Thursday</a> was meant to provide a pause for the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from the battleground border town of Ras al-Ain and other areas Turkey wants to control along its border with Syria.

The five-day suspension looked designed to help Turkey achieve its main territorial goals without fighting but its Syrian proxies continued to clash with Kurdish fighters Friday.

The Britain-based war monitor said four fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces -- the de facto army of the embattled Kurdish autonomous region -- were killed in the strike.

The incident took place even as a 200-vehicle convoy headed towards Ras al-Ain to evacuate civilians who have been virtually besieged there since the start of Turkey's cross-border assault on October 9.

Mustefa Bali, a spokesman for the SDF, said Turkey was clearly violating the terms of the agreement reached during a Thursday visit to Ankara by US Vice President Mike Pence.

- Violation -

"Despite the agreement to halt the fighting, air and artillery attacks continue to target the positions of fighters, civilian settlements and the hospital" in Ras al-Ain, he said.

Under the deal, Kurdish forces are required to withdraw from a border strip 32 kilometres (20 miles) deep, clearing the way for a "safe zone" sought by Turkey.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had said they were ready to abide by the ceasefire in border territory between Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad to its west.

The Turkish offensive was sparked by US President Donald Trump's announcement of an American withdrawal from northern Syria, leading critics to accuse him of betraying Washington's Kurdish allies.

On Thursday evening, Trump said he allowed the two sides to fight for a few days before brokering a truce as they were like "kids in a lot".

The Turkish military and its Syrian proxies -- mostly Arab and Turkmen former rebels used as a ground force -- have so far seized around 120 kilometres (70 miles) of territory along the border.

More than 500 people have been killed on the two sides, including nearly 100 civilians, while around 300,000 have been displaced, according to the Observatory.

- Hospital surrounded -

Kurdish forces have put up fierce resistance in Ras al-Ain, with a network of tunnels, berms and trenches that held off the Turkish onslaught for a week.

Ankara considers the Kurdish forces to be "terrorists" linked to Kurdish rebels inside Turkey.

Turkish forces and their allies had taken control of half of Ras al-Ain on Thursday when its hospital was hit, trapping patients and staff inside, Abdel Rahman said.&nbsp;

Kurdish authorities sent a medical team to rescue the wounded but it was prevented from entering the town, said Hassan Amin, a director of the hospital in nearby Tal Tamr.

"The situation of the wounded is critical and the number is high," he said, adding that seven wounded people from around Ras al-Ain were however evacuated to Tal Tamr.

- 'War crimes' -

Trump has come under sustained criticism in Washington over his handling of the crisis, not only from Democrats but from within his own Republican Party.&nbsp;

The SDF fought alongside US forces to defeat the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq, but Trump argued it was no longer the US role to ensure calm in the region.

Thousands of IS fighters and their families are held in Kurdish-run jails across northern Syria.

The prospect of thousands of the world's most radical jihadists breaking out in the chaos caused by Turkey's invasion is causing widespread alarm.

The Turkish offensive has also been widely criticised, with videos surfacing online allegedly showing captured fighters and civilians being executed.

On Friday, Amnesty International accused Ankara's forces and their proxies of "serious violations and war crimes, summary killings and unlawful attacks".

There was no immediate response from Ankara, which says all possible measures have been taken to avoid civilian casualties.

Trump welcomed the temporary ceasefire Thursday, but later compared the warring parties to children.

"Like two kids in a lot, you have got to let them fight and then you pull them apart," Trump told a rally in Dallas, Texas.

Brett McGurk, former presidential special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, described Trump's remarks as "obscene and ignorant".

Airstrikes by Turkey and mortar fire by its proxies killed nine more civilians near a flashpoint town in northeastern Syria, bringing Friday's civilian death toll to 14, a monitor said.

Airstrikes by Turkey and mortar fire by its proxies killed nine more civilians near a flashpoint town in northeastern Syria, bringing Friday's civilian death toll to 14, a monitor said. "Air strikes and mortar rounds Friday killed 14 civilians... in Bab el-Kheir and nearby villages," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Deadly Turkish airstrikes shattered an hours-old US-brokered deal to stop Ankara's military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria. The ceasefire announced late Thursday was meant to provide a pause for the evacuation of Kurdish fighters from the battleground border town of Ras al-Ain and other areas Turkey wants to control along its border with Syria. The five-day suspension looked designed to help Turkey achieve its main territorial goals without fighting but its Syrian proxies continued to clash with Kurdish fighters Friday. The Britain-based war monitor said four fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces -- the de facto army of the embattled Kurdish autonomous region -- were killed in the strike. The incident took place even as a 200-vehicle convoy headed towards Ras al-Ain to evacuate civilians who have been virtually besieged there since the start of Turkey's cross-border assault on October 9. Mustefa Bali, a spokesman for the SDF, said Turkey was clearly violating the terms of the agreement reached during a Thursday visit to Ankara by US Vice President Mike Pence. - Violation - "Despite the agreement to halt the fighting, air and artillery attacks continue to target the positions of fighters, civilian settlements and the hospital" in Ras al-Ain, he said. Under the deal, Kurdish forces are required to withdraw from a border strip 32 kilometres (20 miles) deep, clearing the way for a "safe zone" sought by Turkey. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had said they were ready to abide by the ceasefire in border territory between Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad to its west. The Turkish offensive was sparked by US President Donald Trump's announcement of an American withdrawal from northern Syria, leading critics to accuse him of betraying Washington's Kurdish allies. On Thursday evening, Trump said he allowed the two sides to fight for a few days before brokering a truce as they were like "kids in a lot". The Turkish military and its Syrian proxies -- mostly Arab and Turkmen former rebels used as a ground force -- have so far seized around 120 kilometres (70 miles) of territory along the border. More than 500 people have been killed on the two sides, including nearly 100 civilians, while around 300,000 have been displaced, according to the Observatory. - Hospital surrounded - Kurdish forces have put up fierce resistance in Ras al-Ain, with a network of tunnels, berms and trenches that held off the Turkish onslaught for a week. Ankara considers the Kurdish forces to be "terrorists" linked to Kurdish rebels inside Turkey. Turkish forces and their allies had taken control of half of Ras al-Ain on Thursday when its hospital was hit, trapping patients and staff inside, Abdel Rahman said. Kurdish authorities sent a medical team to rescue the wounded but it was prevented from entering the town, said Hassan Amin, a director of the hospital in nearby Tal Tamr. "The situation of the wounded is critical and the number is high," he said, adding that seven wounded people from around Ras al-Ain were however evacuated to Tal Tamr. - 'War crimes' - Trump has come under sustained criticism in Washington over his handling of the crisis, not only from Democrats but from within his own Republican Party. The SDF fought alongside US forces to defeat the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq, but Trump argued it was no longer the US role to ensure calm in the region. Thousands of IS fighters and their families are held in Kurdish-run jails across northern Syria. The prospect of thousands of the world's most radical jihadists breaking out in the chaos caused by Turkey's invasion is causing widespread alarm. The Turkish offensive has also been widely criticised, with videos surfacing online allegedly showing captured fighters and civilians being executed. On Friday, Amnesty International accused Ankara's forces and their proxies of "serious violations and war crimes, summary killings and unlawful attacks". There was no immediate response from Ankara, which says all possible measures have been taken to avoid civilian casualties. Trump welcomed the temporary ceasefire Thursday, but later compared the warring parties to children. "Like two kids in a lot, you have got to let them fight and then you pull them apart," Trump told a rally in Dallas, Texas. Brett McGurk, former presidential special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, described Trump's remarks as "obscene and ignorant".

Civilian toll rises to 14 in Turkey bombardment on Syria: Monitor

Donald Trump ties himself in knots over Turkey Syria

Turkey-Syria conflict: Trump's flip flop baffles allies

Turkey agreed to pause its offensive in Syria for five days to let Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone" Ankara had sought to capture, in a deal hailed by Washington but which Turkish leaders cast as a complete victory.

Ceasefire announced in Syria: Turkey agreed to no military actions

Turkey Agrees to Pause Military Operations in Northern Syria. Watch video to know more.

Turkey Agrees to Pause Military Operations in Northern Syria

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trumps-letter-to-recep-tayyip-erdogan-dont-be-a-fool-256456">Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan</a> Friday warned that Ankara would restart its operation against Kurdish forces in Syria on Tuesday evening if they do not withdraw from a "safe zone".

After <a href="http://cms.wionews.com/photos/ceasefire-hails-us-turkey-calls-it-a-pause-what-happened-when-washington-ankara-met-over-syria-offensive-256688">US Vice President Mike Pence came to Ankara for talks</a> with Erdogan on Thursday, the NATO allies agreed Turkey would suspend its offensive for five days in northern Syria while Kurdish fighters withdraw from the area.

"If the promises are kept until Tuesday evening, the safe zone issue will be resolved. If it fails, the operation... will start the minute 120 hours are over," Erdogan told reporters during a briefing in Istanbul.

He said Turkish armed forces would remain in the region "because the security there requires this", adding that there had been no issues so far.

But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday there were Turkish air strikes on the village of Bab al-Kheir, east of Ras al-Ain on the border. The war monitor said <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/deadly-turkey-air-strikes-shatter-north-east-syria-truce-256721">five civilians were killed</a>.

Turkey launched the cross-border incursion on October 9 after repeatedly threatening to clear the border area from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia.

While US President Donald Trump appeared to initially green light the offensive, he made repeated threats against Turkey, often in tweets, following international outrage.

He then sent Pence and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with other US officials to Ankara to thrash out a deal, which was announced on Thursday after hours of talks.

Erdogan said the "safe zone" would be 32 kilometres (20 miles) deep, and 444 kilometres in length, "not between Kobane and Tal Abyad".

He added that the region between the border towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain had been cleared, "but this is not over. The process is ongoing."

Just hours before the US-Turkey talks, a bizarre letter appeared in the US media from Trump to Erdogan, in which the US leader urged Erdogan not to be a "fool" and warned his Turkish counterpart that history risked branding him a "devil."

Turkish media reported that Erdogan had "binned" the letter.&nbsp;

Erdogan said Friday the letter was not in line with "political and diplomatic courtesy... but our mutual love and respect does not allow us to keep it on the agenda."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday warned that Ankara would restart its operation against Kurdish forces in Syria on Tuesday evening if they do not withdraw from a "safe zone".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday warned that Ankara would restart its operation against Kurdish forces in Syria on Tuesday evening if they do not withdraw from a "safe zone". After US Vice President Mike Pence came to Ankara for talks with Erdogan on Thursday, the NATO allies agreed Turkey would suspend its offensive for five days in northern Syria while Kurdish fighters withdraw from the area. "If the promises are kept until Tuesday evening, the safe zone issue will be resolved. If it fails, the operation... will start the minute 120 hours are over," Erdogan told reporters during a briefing in Istanbul. He said Turkish armed forces would remain in the region "because the security there requires this", adding that there had been no issues so far. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday there were Turkish air strikes on the village of Bab al-Kheir, east of Ras al-Ain on the border. The war monitor said five civilians were killed. Turkey launched the cross-border incursion on October 9 after repeatedly threatening to clear the border area from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia. While US President Donald Trump appeared to initially green light the offensive, he made repeated threats against Turkey, often in tweets, following international outrage. He then sent Pence and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with other US officials to Ankara to thrash out a deal, which was announced on Thursday after hours of talks. Erdogan said the "safe zone" would be 32 kilometres (20 miles) deep, and 444 kilometres in length, "not between Kobane and Tal Abyad". He added that the region between the border towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain had been cleared, "but this is not over. The process is ongoing." Just hours before the US-Turkey talks, a bizarre letter appeared in the US media from Trump to Erdogan, in which the US leader urged Erdogan not to be a "fool" and warned his Turkish counterpart that history risked branding him a "devil." Turkish media reported that Erdogan had "binned" the letter. Erdogan said Friday the letter was not in line with "political and diplomatic courtesy... but our mutual love and respect does not allow us to keep it on the agenda."

Erdogan threatens to restart Syria operation Tuesday if deal not respected

'Ceasefire' or a 'pause'? What happened when Washington, Ankara met over Syria offensive

Key developments in Turkey's offensive in Syria

US President Donald Trump&nbsp;on Thursday announced a ceasefire in Syria.

Trump took to Twitter and&nbsp;thanked Turkish President Erdogan adding that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-assault-in-northeast-syria-displaced-300000-monitor-256435">millions of lives will be saved</a> after the deal.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Great news out of Turkey. News Conference shortly with <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecPompeo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecPompeo</a>. Thank you to <a href="https://twitter.com/RTErdogan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RTErdogan</a>. Millions of lives will be saved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1184884179751731200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Trump said, "Turkey had agreed to no-military action" and the US would not impose any sanctions on Turkey.

The Turkish military has decided to pause for five days.

US said the&nbsp;two countries were committed to defeating the Islamic State.

Earlier White House had said that Trump may revoke the invitation to host Erdogan depending on Ankara talks.

The development has come after US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-mike-pence-and-mike-pompeo-head-to-turkey-seeking-ceasefire-256457">visited Turkey seeking to secure a ceasefire </a>in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria.

Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched a broad assault on Kurdish-controlled areas on October 9, after US troops pulled back from the border and started withdrawing from the northeast altogether.

Turkey's week-old offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria has displaced more than 300,000 people, a war monitor stated.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a ceasefire in Syria. Trump took to Twitter and thanked Turkish President Erdogan adding that millions of lives will be saved after the deal.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a ceasefire in Syria. Trump took to Twitter and thanked Turkish President Erdogan adding that millions of lives will be saved after the deal. Great news out of Turkey. News Conference shortly with @VP and @SecPompeo. Thank you to @RTErdogan. Millions of lives will be saved! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019 × Trump said, "Turkey had agreed to no-military action" and the US would not impose any sanctions on Turkey. The Turkish military has decided to pause for five days. US said the two countries were committed to defeating the Islamic State. Earlier White House had said that Trump may revoke the invitation to host Erdogan depending on Ankara talks. The development has come after US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Turkey seeking to secure a ceasefire in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria. Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched a broad assault on Kurdish-controlled areas on October 9, after US troops pulled back from the border and started withdrawing from the northeast altogether. Turkey's week-old offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria has displaced more than 300,000 people, a war monitor stated.

Millions of lives will be saved, says Trump as US-Turkey reach ceasefire in Syria

Syrian refugees started arriving in Bardarash Camp in Duhok Governorate, northern Iraq, on 15 Oct as UN agencies reported deaths on both sides of the border between Northeast Syria and Turkey.

Syrians flee to Iraqi Kurdish region

US Vice President Mike Pence departs for Turkey, seeking to halt a weeklong assault on Syrian Kurds begun after President Donald Trump withdrew U.S. forces from northern Syria.

US delegations head to Turkey

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/strategically-brilliant-trump-defends-syria-pullout-condemned-by-house-in-bipartisan-vote-256357">deadly offensive against Kurdish forces</a> in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey's operation -- which has been facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria -- would continue.

On another front, Kurdish forces struck a desperate deal with Damascus and stepped aside to allow Syrian regime troops and allied Russian soldiers enter the border town of Kobane on Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Kobane is a highly symbolic town for Syria's Kurds, whose forces had in 2015 wrested the town from Islamic State (IS) group control in an epic battle backed by the US-led coalition.

Days after US troops abruptly began withdrawing, clashes continued across the region on Thursday, with Kurdish fighters in the border town of Ras al-Ain burning tyres in a bid to blind Ankara's warplanes and digging in against a ground offensive by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.

Watch: China's game-plan in Syria

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The Turkish operation, now in its second week, has triggered a flurry of diplomacy among major powers.

Trump sent Pence along with his top diplomat Mike Pompeo to Turkey amid the greatest crisis in relations for decades between the NATO allies, with talks due in Ankara early Thursday.&nbsp;

Facing a barrage of criticism in Washington for abandoning the Kurds, Trump has slapped sanctions on three Turkish ministers and raised tariffs on its steel industry.

Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was "an immediate ceasefire".

"Don't be a fool," Trump warned Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria -- warning history risked branding him a "devil."

In language shorn of diplomatic niceties Trump began the letter, dated October 9, with an outright threat.

"You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy -- and I will." he wrote in the missive, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by the White House.

But Erdogan told the Turkish parliament that the only way to solve Syria's problems was for the Kurdish forces to "lay down their arms... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated."

Trump says Kurds 'protected'

Trump again dismissed the idea that pulling out 1,000 troops -- practically the entire US contingent in the region -- had been a betrayal of Kurdish militants who bore the brunt of the fight against IS in recent years.&nbsp;

"The Kurds are very well protected," Trump told reporters at the White House. "By the way, they are not angels."

Trump also said he believed the Kurdish PKK are "more dangerous of a terrorist threat" than IS, echoing Erdogan's rhetoric.

Ankara says Syria's main Kurdish force, the People's Protection Units (YPG), is a "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency inside Turkey since 1984.

Moscow has stepped into the void left by the US withdrawal, deploying patrols to prevent clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces.

The Kremlin and the Turkish presidency said Erdogan would meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the coming days, as both sides seek to prevent a war between Turkey and Syria.

The Turkish government can count on widespread support for its operation at home, where a decades-long bloody insurgency by Kurdish militants has killed tens of thousands of people.

But Western powers fear it will endanger the battle against IS. Thousands of IS prisoners are held in Kurdish-run camps in the region.

Europe has taken an increasingly tough line with Turkey and several countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have imposed arms embargoes on Turkey over the operation.&nbsp;

Jihadist fears

The UN Security Council warned in a unanimously adopted statement of a risk of "dispersion" of jihadist prisoners but stopped short of calling for an end to Turkey's offensive.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Wednesday it was "freezing" operations against IS.

The force's head Mazloum Abdi told Kurdish television channel Ronahi it would make do with "defensive" operations against the group, which maintains sleeper cells and a presence in Syria's vast desert despite its territorial defeat.

Since launching their assault on October 9, Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies have secured more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the border, but Ras al-Ain has held out.

Erdogan wants to create a buffer zone stretching 30 kilometres from the border into Syrian territory.

He wants to destroy Kurdish hopes of an autonomous enclave that could serve as a launchpad for attacks in Turkey, and to resettle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees Ankara is hosting.

The offensive has left dozens of civilians dead, mostly on the Kurdish side, and displaced at least 160,000 people.

Hundreds of Syrian Kurds entered neighbouring Iraqi's Kurdish autonomous region Wednesday, mostly women and children.

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its deadly offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire.

Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its deadly offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey's operation -- which has been facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria -- would continue. On another front, Kurdish forces struck a desperate deal with Damascus and stepped aside to allow Syrian regime troops and allied Russian soldiers enter the border town of Kobane on Wednesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Kobane is a highly symbolic town for Syria's Kurds, whose forces had in 2015 wrested the town from Islamic State (IS) group control in an epic battle backed by the US-led coalition. Days after US troops abruptly began withdrawing, clashes continued across the region on Thursday, with Kurdish fighters in the border town of Ras al-Ain burning tyres in a bid to blind Ankara's warplanes and digging in against a ground offensive by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels. Watch: China's game-plan in Syria × The Turkish operation, now in its second week, has triggered a flurry of diplomacy among major powers. Trump sent Pence along with his top diplomat Mike Pompeo to Turkey amid the greatest crisis in relations for decades between the NATO allies, with talks due in Ankara early Thursday. Facing a barrage of criticism in Washington for abandoning the Kurds, Trump has slapped sanctions on three Turkish ministers and raised tariffs on its steel industry. Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was "an immediate ceasefire". "Don't be a fool," Trump warned Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria -- warning history risked branding him a "devil." In language shorn of diplomatic niceties Trump began the letter, dated October 9, with an outright threat. "You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy -- and I will." he wrote in the missive, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by the White House. But Erdogan told the Turkish parliament that the only way to solve Syria's problems was for the Kurdish forces to "lay down their arms... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated." Trump says Kurds 'protected' Trump again dismissed the idea that pulling out 1,000 troops -- practically the entire US contingent in the region -- had been a betrayal of Kurdish militants who bore the brunt of the fight against IS in recent years. "The Kurds are very well protected," Trump told reporters at the White House. "By the way, they are not angels." Trump also said he believed the Kurdish PKK are "more dangerous of a terrorist threat" than IS, echoing Erdogan's rhetoric. Ankara says Syria's main Kurdish force, the People's Protection Units (YPG), is a "terrorist" offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody insurgency inside Turkey since 1984. Moscow has stepped into the void left by the US withdrawal, deploying patrols to prevent clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces. The Kremlin and the Turkish presidency said Erdogan would meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the coming days, as both sides seek to prevent a war between Turkey and Syria. The Turkish government can count on widespread support for its operation at home, where a decades-long bloody insurgency by Kurdish militants has killed tens of thousands of people. But Western powers fear it will endanger the battle against IS. Thousands of IS prisoners are held in Kurdish-run camps in the region. Europe has taken an increasingly tough line with Turkey and several countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have imposed arms embargoes on Turkey over the operation. Jihadist fears The UN Security Council warned in a unanimously adopted statement of a risk of "dispersion" of jihadist prisoners but stopped short of calling for an end to Turkey's offensive. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Wednesday it was "freezing" operations against IS. The force's head Mazloum Abdi told Kurdish television channel Ronahi it would make do with "defensive" operations against the group, which maintains sleeper cells and a presence in Syria's vast desert despite its territorial defeat. Since launching their assault on October 9, Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies have secured more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the border, but Ras al-Ain has held out. Erdogan wants to create a buffer zone stretching 30 kilometres from the border into Syrian territory. He wants to destroy Kurdish hopes of an autonomous enclave that could serve as a launchpad for attacks in Turkey, and to resettle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees Ankara is hosting. The offensive has left dozens of civilians dead, mostly on the Kurdish side, and displaced at least 160,000 people. Hundreds of Syrian Kurds entered neighbouring Iraqi's Kurdish autonomous region Wednesday, mostly women and children.

Turkey defiant on Syria offensive as US demands ceasefire

U.S.-Turkey meeting begins in Ankara. Watch this video to know more. WION's West Asia Bureau Chief Daniele Pagani tells more in details.

U.S.-Turkey meeting begins in Ankara

U.S. President Donald Trump seems to be tying himself in knots with his flip-flop. He said that he didn't give the green light to Turkey. Watch this video to know more.

Trump seems to be tying himself in knots with his flip-flop

"Don't be a fool," Donald Trump warned his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-assault-in-northeast-syria-displaced-300000-monitor-256435"> Turkey launched</a> its incursion into northeastern Syria -- warning history risked branding him a "devil."

Three days after appearing to greenlight an invasion by pulling US troops from the Kurdish-dominated region, Trump told the Turkish president he would wreck Ankara's economy if the invasion went too far.

In language shorn of diplomatic niceties, Trump began with an outright threat.

<img alt="trump-letter" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="45fd2603-c0a5-4350-bd70-5ae3a0607c2a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Trump%20letter.jpg" />

"Let's work out a good deal," Trump wrote in the letter dated October 9, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by the White House.

"You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy, and I will."

"History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way," Trump said. "It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen."

The US leader told Erdogan a "great deal" was possible if he negotiated with the head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, whom Turkey has labelled a "terrorist" for his ties to the Kurdish PKK militants in Turkey.

"Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool," he finished, adding: "I will call you later."

"Don't be a fool," Donald Trump warned his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria -- warning history risked branding him a "devil.

"Don't be a fool," Donald Trump warned his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria -- warning history risked branding him a "devil." Three days after appearing to greenlight an invasion by pulling US troops from the Kurdish-dominated region, Trump told the Turkish president he would wreck Ankara's economy if the invasion went too far. In language shorn of diplomatic niceties, Trump began with an outright threat. "Let's work out a good deal," Trump wrote in the letter dated October 9, whose authenticity was confirmed to AFP by the White House. "You don't want to be responsible for slaughtering thousands of people, and I don't want to be responsible for destroying the Turkish economy, and I will." "History will look upon you favourably if you get this done the right and humane way," Trump said. "It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don't happen." The US leader told Erdogan a "great deal" was possible if he negotiated with the head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, whom Turkey has labelled a "terrorist" for his ties to the Kurdish PKK militants in Turkey. "Don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool," he finished, adding: "I will call you later."

'Don't be a fool': US President Trump tells Turkish President Erdogan in threatening letter

US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-delegations-head-to-turkey-256376">departed for Turkey</a> on Wednesday, seeking to secure a ceasefire in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-assault-in-northeast-syria-displaced-300000-monitor-256435">Turkish invasion</a> of northern Syria.

"Our mission set is to see if we can get a ceasefire, see if we can get this brokered," Pompeo told reporters on his plane.

Pence and Pompeo, who travelled on different planes, were scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but Erdogan has said he will not meet them.

Erdogan has also vowed that Turkey's operation,&nbsp;which was facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, would continue.

US President Donald Trump, facing with mounting criticism over the abrupt pullout, has denied he gave Erdogan a "green light" to launch operations against the Kurds.

Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was an immediate ceasefire.

After the trip to Turkey, Pompeo will stop in Jerusalem Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Syria and the "need to counter the Iranian regime's destabilizing behavior in the region," according to a statement from the State Department.

Iran is an arch-foe for the Trump administration, which pulled out of a multinational deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear program and instead slapped punishing sanctions.

Later Friday, Pompeo will also meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, the statement said.

US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to secure a ceasefire in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria.

US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to secure a ceasefire in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria. "Our mission set is to see if we can get a ceasefire, see if we can get this brokered," Pompeo told reporters on his plane. Pence and Pompeo, who travelled on different planes, were scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but Erdogan has said he will not meet them. Erdogan has also vowed that Turkey's operation, which was facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria, would continue. US President Donald Trump, facing with mounting criticism over the abrupt pullout, has denied he gave Erdogan a "green light" to launch operations against the Kurds. Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was an immediate ceasefire. After the trip to Turkey, Pompeo will stop in Jerusalem Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Syria and the "need to counter the Iranian regime's destabilizing behavior in the region," according to a statement from the State Department. Iran is an arch-foe for the Trump administration, which pulled out of a multinational deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear program and instead slapped punishing sanctions. Later Friday, Pompeo will also meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, the statement said.

United States' Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo head to Turkey seeking ceasefire

By Kerstin Carlson

For more than a year, European powers have dallied over the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and adherents captured following the fall of the so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

Now the US decision to withdraw troops and Turkey’s subsequent invasion of northern Syria on October 9 means the West has lost the luxury of inaction.

Since IS’s territorial defeat in March 2019, camps housing “IS families” and other displaced persons have swollen far in excess of their capacity. In Syria, the largest camp, Al-Hawl, exceeds 70,000 people.

The Turkish offensive has drawn the resources of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces away from guarding the camps. Predictably, detainees have been escaping. On October 14, more than 700 IS adherents (men, women, and children, although reportedly no fighters) escaped the Ain Issa camp in Syria. The US had attempted to move 60 “high value” IS prisoners before its troops withdrew, but failed. Expect more escapes, including of IS fighters, in the days and weeks to come.

Repatriation

Prior to the Turkish invasion, European nations had been wringing their hands, but doing little else, regarding the problem of foreign and other citizens in detention in Syria and Iraq. It’s estimated that 40,000 foreign fighters, including 6,000 western Europeans, travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the group.

The two options most hotly debated regarding European citizens were repatriation and trials on site, where the detainees are being held. What to do with Iraqi and Syrian citizens was to be left to Iraq and Syria.

Of the two options, repatriation of nationals is the right choice. European countries, however, have equivocated. Europe does not want these citizens, understood as traitorous at best, dangerous at worst. The notion of danger includes even very small children, who some argue should be understood as “radicalised” or “cubs of the caliphate,” irreparably marked by the violence and indoctrination they have experienced.

This narrative has taken precedence over the reports regarding the inhumane conditions in the camps in Syria: overflowing sewage leaking into tents, worms in the water, extreme weather conditions resulting in death, particularly for babies and young children. The case of Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old to join IS and whose citizenship was later revoked by the British government, is a stark example of this. Her baby died a few weeks after he was born in the al-Roj camp in March 2019.

Britain is not alone: Most European countries refuse to repatriate citizens picked up in Syria and Iraq, or even, in fact, to count or identify them. Only a few exceptional repatriation instances exist, including a handful of French and Dutch orphans and a large mixed group of people including children to Germany. Kosovo and Kazakstan have been open to repatriation and Turkey and Russia have taken some orphans. In June, the Kurds released 800 detainees back to their families in Syria.

Repatriated IS fighters and adherents would stand trial in their home countries under domestic criminal law.

IS tribunals

A second option, trials on site for IS adherents regardless of citizenship, was gaining momentum prior to the Turkish invasion, with several countries promoting the idea of an international tribunal. The idea of constructing an ad hoc tribunal in the region promised to solve the detainee impasse for Western countries and the SDF.

But there are several problems with such an option. First, because the SDF is not an official government but rather provisionally in charge of territory in Syria, an ad hoc court with international support could not be set up in the Kurdish area of northern Syria. This leaves Iraq as the likely site. Constructing such an international tribunal in Iraq for IS adherents was the topic of a meeting held between Britain, France, Germany and three other countries in Copenhagen on October 11. On the table is a hybrid structure, involving both international and Iraqi judges.

But an ad hoc tribunal in Iraq would need to contend with Iraqi law, which allows the death penalty, as well as the deeply problematic Iraqi trials already underway of IS affiliates. For the past several years, the Iraqi government has been subjecting IS fighters and affiliates to what can only be called sham trials. Trials average ten minutes, and many defendants will not have met their defence attorney – who is paid $25 per case – before the trial.

Punishment for IS affiliation includes life in prison when judges are lenient, but can also bring death by hanging. Iraqi courts have issued hundreds of death sentences, including against foreign nationals, although it’s not clear if any have yet been carried out.

What kind of justice? 
 
Internationally financed courts will not hand out death sentences – even life imprisonment is a sentence rarely pronounced by international or hybrid criminal courts. Gross violations of procedural rights are also unpalatable for Western-run institutions. But the numbers of detainees in prison prior to the Turkish offensive as well as the dearth of information regarding what crimes they have committed beyond affiliation with IS mean that rights-respecting court processes will take huge resources and could be inconclusive.

Any just tribunal would release most of the convicted prisoners within, at most, a few years if jail terms are to conform to widely accepted humanitarian standards. This would simply defer by a few years the question of what in fact should be done with IS affiliates – where should they live and where do they belong?

In early 2019, the Kurds set up trials for IS adherents in Kurdish-administered areas of Iraq and Syria, as an antidote to flawed Iraqi justice. Defence counsel was provided and sentences were capped at 20 years: rehabilitation, not revenge, was the goal, one judge told a journalist for NPR. This promising development may be one more casualty of the changed circumstances on the ground.

The first, still best, option – repatriation of foreign nationals – is arguably a quickly closing window. Even then, questions would remain about what should happen to Iraqi and Syrian nationals, and what role the West should play in resolving their situation. But European powers must avoid taking the third option they’d been exercising by default – doing nothing, and waiting for circumstances to change.

(Kerstin Carlson is Associate Professor International Law, University of Southern Denmark) 
 
(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-must-repatriate-is-fighters-and-their-families-before-more-break-free-from-syrian-camps-125168">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL) &nbsp; 
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&nbsp;

By Kerstin Carlson For more than a year, European powers have dallied over the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and adherents captured following the fall of the so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

By Kerstin Carlson For more than a year, European powers have dallied over the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and adherents captured following the fall of the so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Now the US decision to withdraw troops and Turkey’s subsequent invasion of northern Syria on October 9 means the West has lost the luxury of inaction. Since IS’s territorial defeat in March 2019, camps housing “IS families” and other displaced persons have swollen far in excess of their capacity. In Syria, the largest camp, Al-Hawl, exceeds 70,000 people. The Turkish offensive has drawn the resources of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces away from guarding the camps. Predictably, detainees have been escaping. On October 14, more than 700 IS adherents (men, women, and children, although reportedly no fighters) escaped the Ain Issa camp in Syria. The US had attempted to move 60 “high value” IS prisoners before its troops withdrew, but failed. Expect more escapes, including of IS fighters, in the days and weeks to come. Repatriation Prior to the Turkish invasion, European nations had been wringing their hands, but doing little else, regarding the problem of foreign and other citizens in detention in Syria and Iraq. It’s estimated that 40,000 foreign fighters, including 6,000 western Europeans, travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the group. The two options most hotly debated regarding European citizens were repatriation and trials on site, where the detainees are being held. What to do with Iraqi and Syrian citizens was to be left to Iraq and Syria. Of the two options, repatriation of nationals is the right choice. European countries, however, have equivocated. Europe does not want these citizens, understood as traitorous at best, dangerous at worst. The notion of danger includes even very small children, who some argue should be understood as “radicalised” or “cubs of the caliphate,” irreparably marked by the violence and indoctrination they have experienced. This narrative has taken precedence over the reports regarding the inhumane conditions in the camps in Syria: overflowing sewage leaking into tents, worms in the water, extreme weather conditions resulting in death, particularly for babies and young children. The case of Shamima Begum, who left the UK as a 15-year-old to join IS and whose citizenship was later revoked by the British government, is a stark example of this. Her baby died a few weeks after he was born in the al-Roj camp in March 2019. Britain is not alone: Most European countries refuse to repatriate citizens picked up in Syria and Iraq, or even, in fact, to count or identify them. Only a few exceptional repatriation instances exist, including a handful of French and Dutch orphans and a large mixed group of people including children to Germany. Kosovo and Kazakstan have been open to repatriation and Turkey and Russia have taken some orphans. In June, the Kurds released 800 detainees back to their families in Syria. Repatriated IS fighters and adherents would stand trial in their home countries under domestic criminal law. IS tribunals A second option, trials on site for IS adherents regardless of citizenship, was gaining momentum prior to the Turkish invasion, with several countries promoting the idea of an international tribunal. The idea of constructing an ad hoc tribunal in the region promised to solve the detainee impasse for Western countries and the SDF. But there are several problems with such an option. First, because the SDF is not an official government but rather provisionally in charge of territory in Syria, an ad hoc court with international support could not be set up in the Kurdish area of northern Syria. This leaves Iraq as the likely site. Constructing such an international tribunal in Iraq for IS adherents was the topic of a meeting held between Britain, France, Germany and three other countries in Copenhagen on October 11. On the table is a hybrid structure, involving both international and Iraqi judges. But an ad hoc tribunal in Iraq would need to contend with Iraqi law, which allows the death penalty, as well as the deeply problematic Iraqi trials already underway of IS affiliates. For the past several years, the Iraqi government has been subjecting IS fighters and affiliates to what can only be called sham trials. Trials average ten minutes, and many defendants will not have met their defence attorney – who is paid $25 per case – before the trial. Punishment for IS affiliation includes life in prison when judges are lenient, but can also bring death by hanging. Iraqi courts have issued hundreds of death sentences, including against foreign nationals, although it’s not clear if any have yet been carried out. What kind of justice? Internationally financed courts will not hand out death sentences – even life imprisonment is a sentence rarely pronounced by international or hybrid criminal courts. Gross violations of procedural rights are also unpalatable for Western-run institutions. But the numbers of detainees in prison prior to the Turkish offensive as well as the dearth of information regarding what crimes they have committed beyond affiliation with IS mean that rights-respecting court processes will take huge resources and could be inconclusive. Any just tribunal would release most of the convicted prisoners within, at most, a few years if jail terms are to conform to widely accepted humanitarian standards. This would simply defer by a few years the question of what in fact should be done with IS affiliates – where should they live and where do they belong? In early 2019, the Kurds set up trials for IS adherents in Kurdish-administered areas of Iraq and Syria, as an antidote to flawed Iraqi justice. Defence counsel was provided and sentences were capped at 20 years: rehabilitation, not revenge, was the goal, one judge told a journalist for NPR. This promising development may be one more casualty of the changed circumstances on the ground. The first, still best, option – repatriation of foreign nationals – is arguably a quickly closing window. Even then, questions would remain about what should happen to Iraqi and Syrian nationals, and what role the West should play in resolving their situation. But European powers must avoid taking the third option they’d been exercising by default – doing nothing, and waiting for circumstances to change. (Kerstin Carlson is Associate Professor International Law, University of Southern Denmark) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Western states must repatriate IS fighters before more break free from Syrian camps

Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies gained ground Thursday in Ras al-Ain, a key border town where <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/strategically-brilliant-trump-defends-syria-pullout-condemned-by-house-in-bipartisan-vote-256357">Kurdish fighters</a> had been putting up stiff resistance, a war monitor said.

"There have been intensive airstrikes on Ras al-Ain over the past three days," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

Turkish forces and the mostly Arab and Turkmen former rebels they use as a ground force had "taken about half of the town" by Thursday morning, he said.

Massively outgunned by the Turkish army and its airforce, Kurdish fighters from the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/erdogan-vows-turkey-operation-to-continue-as-us-demands-ceasefire-256358">Syrian Democratic Forces </a>(SDF) quickly lost a long stretch of the border when the assault was launched on October 9.

They organised a defence of Ras al-Ain however with a dense network of tunnels, berms and trenches that held off Turkish forces and their proxies for about a week.

An AFP correspondent on the Turkish side of the Ras al-Ain front line said the sound of gunfire and blasts from artillery and airstrikes was constant.

Turkey wants to create a 30-kilometre-deep buffer on the Syrian side of the border to keep Kurdish militias at bay and set up a resettlement zone for some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees living on its soil.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far ignored international pressure to halt the offensive, which has left dozens of civilians dead and displaced more than 300,000 people, according to the Observatory.

Meanwhile, US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to secure a ceasefire in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria.

"Our mission set is to see if we can get a ceasefire, see if we can get this brokered," Pompeo told reporters on his plane.

Pence and Pompeo, who travelled on different planes, were scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but Erdogan has said he will not meet them.

Erdogan has also vowed that Turkey's operation -- which was facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria -- would continue.

US President Donald Trump, facing with mounting criticism over the abrupt pullout, has denied he gave Erdogan a "green light" to launch operations against the Kurds.

Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was an immediate ceasefire.

After the trip to Turkey, Pompeo will stop in Jerusalem Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Syria and the "need to counter the Iranian regime's destabilizing behaviour in the region," according to a statement from the State Department.

Iran is an arch-foe for the Trump administration, which pulled out of a multinational deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear program and instead slapped punishing sanctions.

Later Friday, Pompeo will also meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, the statement said. 
&nbsp;

Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies gained ground Thursday in Ras al-Ain, a key border town where Kurdish fighters had been putting up stiff resistance, a war monitor said.

Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies gained ground Thursday in Ras al-Ain, a key border town where Kurdish fighters had been putting up stiff resistance, a war monitor said. "There have been intensive airstrikes on Ras al-Ain over the past three days," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said. Turkish forces and the mostly Arab and Turkmen former rebels they use as a ground force had "taken about half of the town" by Thursday morning, he said. Massively outgunned by the Turkish army and its airforce, Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) quickly lost a long stretch of the border when the assault was launched on October 9. They organised a defence of Ras al-Ain however with a dense network of tunnels, berms and trenches that held off Turkish forces and their proxies for about a week. An AFP correspondent on the Turkish side of the Ras al-Ain front line said the sound of gunfire and blasts from artillery and airstrikes was constant. Turkey wants to create a 30-kilometre-deep buffer on the Syrian side of the border to keep Kurdish militias at bay and set up a resettlement zone for some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees living on its soil. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has so far ignored international pressure to halt the offensive, which has left dozens of civilians dead and displaced more than 300,000 people, according to the Observatory. Meanwhile, US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to secure a ceasefire in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria. "Our mission set is to see if we can get a ceasefire, see if we can get this brokered," Pompeo told reporters on his plane. Pence and Pompeo, who travelled on different planes, were scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but Erdogan has said he will not meet them. Erdogan has also vowed that Turkey's operation -- which was facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria -- would continue. US President Donald Trump, facing with mounting criticism over the abrupt pullout, has denied he gave Erdogan a "green light" to launch operations against the Kurds. Pence's office said the US would pursue "punishing economic sanctions" unless there was an immediate ceasefire. After the trip to Turkey, Pompeo will stop in Jerusalem Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Syria and the "need to counter the Iranian regime's destabilizing behaviour in the region," according to a statement from the State Department. Iran is an arch-foe for the Trump administration, which pulled out of a multinational deal on curbing Tehran's nuclear program and instead slapped punishing sanctions. Later Friday, Pompeo will also meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, the statement said.

Gunfire, airstrikes as Turkey gains ground in key Syrian border town 

Turkey's week-old offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria has displaced more than 300,000 people, a war monitor said Thursday.

"More than 300,000 civilians have been displaced since the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/strategically-brilliant-trump-defends-syria-pullout-condemned-by-house-in-bipartisan-vote-256357">start of the offensive</a>," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

He said the jump in the number of people forced to flee was due to a fresh wave of displacement over the past few days from areas around Tal Abyad and Kobane and in Hasakeh province.

Most displaced people tried to move in with relatives in safer areas, some were sleeping rough in orchards and others in some of the 40 schools that have been turned into emergency shelters, Abdel Rahman said.

Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched a broad assault on Kurdish-controlled areas on October 9, after US troops pulled back from the border and started withdrawing from the northeast altogether.

Watch: Syrians flee to Iraqi Kurdish region

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Dozens of civilians -- mostly on the Kurdish side -- have been killed since the start of the offensive, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to halt despite mounting international pressure.

Meanwhile, Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies gained ground&nbsp;in Ras al-Ain, a key border town where Kurdish fighters had been putting up stiff resistance, a war monitor said.

"There have been intensive airstrikes on Ras al-Ain over the past three days," Rahman said.

Turkish forces and the mostly Arab and Turkmen former rebels they use as a ground force had "taken about half of the town" by Thursday morning, he said.

Massively outgunned by the Turkish army and its airforce, Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) quickly lost a long stretch of border when the assault was launched on October 9.

They organised a defence of Ras al-Ain however with a dense network of tunnels, berms and trenches that held off Turkish forces and their proxies for about a week.

An AFP correspondent on the Turkish side of the Ras al-Ain front line said the sound of gunfire and blasts from artillery and airstrikes was constant.

Turkey wants to create a 30-kilometre-deep buffer on the Syrian side of the border to keep Kurdish militias at bay and set up a resettlement zone for some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees living on its soil.

Turkey's week-old offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria has displaced more than 300,000 people, a war monitor said Thursday. "More than 300,000 civilians have been displaced since the start of the offensive," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.

Turkey's week-old offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria has displaced more than 300,000 people, a war monitor said Thursday. "More than 300,000 civilians have been displaced since the start of the offensive," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said. He said the jump in the number of people forced to flee was due to a fresh wave of displacement over the past few days from areas around Tal Abyad and Kobane and in Hasakeh province. Most displaced people tried to move in with relatives in safer areas, some were sleeping rough in orchards and others in some of the 40 schools that have been turned into emergency shelters, Abdel Rahman said. Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched a broad assault on Kurdish-controlled areas on October 9, after US troops pulled back from the border and started withdrawing from the northeast altogether. Watch: Syrians flee to Iraqi Kurdish region × Dozens of civilians -- mostly on the Kurdish side -- have been killed since the start of the offensive, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to halt despite mounting international pressure. Meanwhile, Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies gained ground in Ras al-Ain, a key border town where Kurdish fighters had been putting up stiff resistance, a war monitor said. "There have been intensive airstrikes on Ras al-Ain over the past three days," Rahman said. Turkish forces and the mostly Arab and Turkmen former rebels they use as a ground force had "taken about half of the town" by Thursday morning, he said. Massively outgunned by the Turkish army and its airforce, Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) quickly lost a long stretch of border when the assault was launched on October 9. They organised a defence of Ras al-Ain however with a dense network of tunnels, berms and trenches that held off Turkish forces and their proxies for about a week. An AFP correspondent on the Turkish side of the Ras al-Ain front line said the sound of gunfire and blasts from artillery and airstrikes was constant. Turkey wants to create a 30-kilometre-deep buffer on the Syrian side of the border to keep Kurdish militias at bay and set up a resettlement zone for some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees living on its soil.

Turkey assault in northeast Syria displaced 300,000: Monitor

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-dont-approve-of-turkish-actions-in-syria-russia-256210">Russian President Vladimir Putin</a> discussed the conflict in Syria in a phone call with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and invited the Turkish leader to soon visit Russia, the Kremlin said.

Putin invited Erdogan "for a working visit in the coming days. The invitation was accepted," Putin's office said in a statement late Tuesday.

It said the two leaders emphasised "the need to prevent confrontations between units of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkey-pushes-offensive-in-syria-despite-sanctions-and-calls-to-stop-256184">Turkish army and Syrian armed forces</a>".

The call was initiated by Turkey, the Kremlin said.

Putin raised concerns in the call about "terrorists attempting to break free and infiltrate neighbouring countries" amid Ankara's offensive against Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria.

Earlier, Russia called Turkey's military incursion into northeast Syria "unacceptable" and said the operation had to be limited in time and scale, a rare broadside that suggests Moscow's patience with Ankara is wearing thin.

Watch video:

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"We didn't agree with the Turks any questions about their presence in Syria and we don't approve of their actions," envoy Alexander Lavrentiev told reporters in Abu Dhabi during an official visit there by Putin.

He said Turkish troops had the right under an agreement struck between Damascus and Ankara in 1998, the Adana pact, to temporarily push up to a maximum of 10 km (6 miles) into Syria to conduct counter-terrorism operations.

"But it doesn't give them (Turkish troops) the right to remain on Syrian territory permanently and we are opposed to Turkish troops staying on Syrian territory permanently," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict in Syria in a phone call with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and invited the Turkish leader to soon visit Russia, the Kremlin said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict in Syria in a phone call with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and invited the Turkish leader to soon visit Russia, the Kremlin said. Putin invited Erdogan "for a working visit in the coming days. The invitation was accepted," Putin's office said in a statement late Tuesday. It said the two leaders emphasised "the need to prevent confrontations between units of the Turkish army and Syrian armed forces". The call was initiated by Turkey, the Kremlin said. Putin raised concerns in the call about "terrorists attempting to break free and infiltrate neighbouring countries" amid Ankara's offensive against Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria. Earlier, Russia called Turkey's military incursion into northeast Syria "unacceptable" and said the operation had to be limited in time and scale, a rare broadside that suggests Moscow's patience with Ankara is wearing thin. Watch video: "We didn't agree with the Turks any questions about their presence in Syria and we don't approve of their actions," envoy Alexander Lavrentiev told reporters in Abu Dhabi during an official visit there by Putin. He said Turkish troops had the right under an agreement struck between Damascus and Ankara in 1998, the Adana pact, to temporarily push up to a maximum of 10 km (6 miles) into Syria to conduct counter-terrorism operations. "But it doesn't give them (Turkish troops) the right to remain on Syrian territory permanently and we are opposed to Turkish troops staying on Syrian territory permanently," he said.

Vladimir Putin invites Turkish President Erdogan to Russia amid Syria offensive

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