- Title: Turks divided over Russia agreement on Syria
- Date: 23rd October 2019
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING NEAR STREET VENDOR MAN LOOKING AT NEWSPAPERS
- Embargoed: 6th November 2019 09:18
- Keywords: Syria Turkey incursion ceasefire border Russia agreement
- Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
- City: ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2BHUMF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkey's agreement with Russia to remove Kurdish YPG forces from the Syrian border has drawn varying responses from Turkish residents on Wednesday (October 23).
The Russia-Turkey agreement struck in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday (October 22) endorses the return of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces to the border alongside Russian troops, replacing the Americans who had patrolled the region for years with their former Kurdish allies.
It also effectively ends the Turkish military offensive that had begun on October 9, in which Turkey had hoped to clear the Syrian border area of the YPG, which Ankara regards as a terrorist organisation because of its links to insurgents inside Turkey.
One resident of Ankara said he was glad the offensive was over as it will spare the lives of both soldiers and citizens. Another man was more sceptical and said only time will tell how the outcome will be.
Some 300,000 people have been displaced by Turkey's offensive and 120 civilians have been killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor. It said on Sunday 259 fighters with the Kurdish-led forces had been killed, and 196 Turkey-backed Syrian rebels. Turkey says 765 terrorists but no civilians have been killed in its offensive.
(Production: Mert Ozkan, Yesim Dikmen, Bushra Shakhshir) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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