Turkey Syria offensive: Russia deploys troops to border

2019-10-23 13:36:00

Russian forces have begun to deploy towards the Turkey-Syria border, as part of deal to remove Kurdish troops. Units crossed the Euphrates river, heading towards the city of Kobane. Under the deal agreed by Russia and Turkey, Kurdish fighters were given 150 hours from noon on Wednesday to pull back 30km (18 miles) along the border. Turkish troops will continue to control an area they took during a recent offensive against the Kurdish fighters, regarded by Turkey as terrorists. Part of Turkey's plan is also to create a "safe zone" along the border that will house some two million of the Syrian refugees it hosts. The Turkish offensive began after the US announced a sudden and unexpected withdrawal of its troops from northern Syria. The US troops had been supporting the Kurdish fighters, who have been allies in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group in the region.