- Title: Turkey-backed Syrian forces capture border town of Tel Abyad
- Date: 13th October 2019
- Summary: TEL ABYAD, SYRIA (OCTOBER 13, 2019) (REUTERS) TURKEY-BACKED SYRIAN FIGHTERS PATROLLING STREETS OF TEL ABYAD/FLATTENED BUILDING AND MORE SOLDIERS GATHERED ENTRANCE TO TEL ABYAD HOSPITAL BUILDING
- Embargoed: 27th October 2019 12:46
- Keywords: Turkey Syria Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan Syrian National Army Ras Al Ain Tel Abyad military operation Syrian Kurdish militia
- Location: TEL ABYAD, SYRIA
- City: TEL ABYAD, SYRIA
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0XIHXJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES
The Turkish army and its Syrian rebel allies advanced into the centre of the Syrian town of Tel Abyad on Sunday (October 13) where the situation was calm and they were conducting search operations, a Reuters witness said.
Tel Abyad is a town on the Syrian border and one of the main focal points of the Turkish offensive that began on Wednesday against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization that reports on the conflict, said Turkey and its allies were in almost complete control of the town.
Video footage showed soldiers in the town that appeared largely deserted by its previous residents. Three bodies of men were lying outside the entrance to what appeared to be a defunct hospital.
Earlier, President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's military and its Syrian rebel allies will advance 30-35 km (19-22 miles) into Syrian territory in their offensive against Kurdish militia and they have already seized control of the town of Ras al Ain.
More than 130,000 people have been displaced from rural areas around Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain as a result of fighting between Turkish-led forces and Kurdish militia, the United Nations has said.
(Production: Khalil Ashawi, Omer Berberoglu, Ayat Basma) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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