The regional administration in northern Syria dominated by the PKK's Syrian affiliate says the People's Protection Units (YPG) terrorists have started withdrawing from a town near Turkey's border.

The withdrawal is concerned with a 5 to 14 kilometer-wide strip along the border, Mustafa Bali, a member of the terrorist YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said Tuesday.

The first step began three days ago in Ras al-Ayn, from where YPG terrorists withdrew with their heavy weapons and removed some earth mounds.

On Monday, they repeated the same steps in Tal Abyad, "showing the seriousness of our commitment to current understandings" on the buffer zone.

The town is located across Akçakale district in Turkey's southeastern Şanlıurfa province, where a U.S.-Turkey operations center aimed at creating the buffer area was recently established.

As per U.S.-Turkish talks for a safe zone in northeastern Syria, the width of the border strip will vary and will include rural areas or military positions, not cities or towns, Bali told Reuters.

It says the YPG's positions were taken over by local forces, without elaborating.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) previously issued a statement on Aug. 23 and said "Within 24 hours of the phone call between United States Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) and Turkish Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) to discuss security in northeast Syria, the SDF destroyed military fortifications, Aug. 22. This demonstrates the SDF's commitment to support implementation of the security mechanism framework" on the official Twitter account.

A source familiar with the talks told Reuters that although Washington and Ankara were still discussing how deep the zone would go, they had agreed to start work on one stretch of the border.

"The safety mechanism arrangement is being implemented in phases," the source said, adding that arrangements would vary at different parts of the border.

The source said U.S.-Turkish joint patrols will monitor the removal of heavy weapons, fortifications and tunnels, along with YPG presence between the two Syrian border towns about 100 kilometers (60 miles) apart.

That stretch is around a quarter of the whole border that could be covered by the zone, which Turkey says should extend 32 kilometers (20 miles) inside Syria.

A senior Turkish official said Ankara and Washington had bridged some, but not all, of their differences.

"There was a rapprochement, but our insistence on the 20 miles persists. The United States has taken steps to improve this, but they are still not enough," the official said. "It is not possible for us to accept the SDF's presence there."

Turkey has been pressing for a safe zone, running east of the Euphrates River toward the Iraqi border, to push U.S.-allied YPG terrorists away from its frontier. On Monday, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkish troops would soon enter northeast Syria.

"Our armed drones, drones and helicopters are in the region," he said.

"We expect our ground troops to enter the region very soon," he told supporters in eastern Turkey.

On Saturday, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the joint operations center was at "full capacity."

He said the first joint helicopter flight took place on Saturday afternoon.

The SDF, with the YPG at its forefront, controls much of north and east Syria, after seizing territory from Daesh terrorists in a campaign backed by U.S.-led coalition. </s> The Kurdish authorities in northeast Syrian said Tuesday their forces had started to withdraw from outposts along the Turkish border after a US-Turkish deal for a buffer zone there.

They said work had begun Saturday on “the first practical steps -- in the Ras al-Ain area -- in removing some earth mounds and withdrawing a group of (Kurdish) People’s Protection Units and heavy weapons.”

The so-called “safe zone” agreed by Washington and Ankara earlier this month aims to create a buffer between the Turkish border and Syrian areas controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a group Ankara sees as “terrorists.” </s> ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The People’s Protection Units (YPG) this week removed fortifications, forces, and heavy weapons from the northern border area between Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tal Abyad as part of a new mechanism agreed upon between Turkey and the US.

On Aug. 7, 2019, Turkey and the US agreed on a new security mechanism designed to address the former’s concerns regarding northeastern Syria. On Saturday, the Turkey-US Joint Operations Center (JOC) officially started its work in the province of Şanlıurfa, which borders Kobani.

“On the 24, we began practical steps in Serekaniye (Ras al Ain) and removed some military fortifications and began withdrawing a YPG unit and heavy weaponry to new areas, handing over border points to local forces,” Zidane Al-Assi, Head of the Defense Committee of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, said in a statement on Tuesday.

On Aug. 24, one Turkish and one US general flew on the same helicopter over the area as part of the agreement.

According to the official Twitter account of the US Central Command, the leadership of the US military, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began dismantling military fortifications on Aug. 22, just one day after a phone call between the US Secretary of Defense and the Turkish Minister of Defense.

“This demonstrates the SDF’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the security mechanism framework,” CENTCOM said.

On Aug. 26, similar steps were taken in the town of Tal Abyad.

“These procedures were done to ensure our commitment to these understandings and to show how we are interested in a reaching a solution by way of a peaceful dialogue with neighboring countries,” the security head al Assi said. </s> BEIRUT: The Kurdish YPG militia will pull forces and heavy weapons from a strip along Syria's border with Turkey under US-Turkish deals, an official in the YPG-led alliance said on Tuesday (Aug 27).

The YPG withdrew from some border positions in recent days, proving it is serious about ongoing talks, the Kurdish-led authority running much of north and east Syria also said.

Turkey and Washington agreed this month to create a coordination centre for a planned "safe zone" in northeast Syria along the border, including joint patrols. But they gave few details on the zone's size or the command structure of the forces to operate there.

A main point of friction has been how deep the zone would extend into northeast Syria under the deal, which includes joint patrols and will come into effect in phases.

SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told Reuters the width of the strip would vary along the border between 5km and 14km and will include rural areas or military positions, not cities or towns.

The YPG and SDF will dismantle barricades "of defensive nature" there, and will hand over control to military councils of local fighters, he said.

Turkey has repeatedly said it would not tolerate any delays to the deal by US officials, warning it will mount a cross-border offensive on its own to clear its borders if necessary.

Ankara has already sent its military twice into northern Syria to push the Kurdish fighters from its borders in recent years.

US support for the YPG has enraged Turkey, which deems the militia a security threat linked to Kurdish insurgents at home.

The YPG spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which controls north and east Syria, after defeating Islamic State militants with US help.

Bali said Turkish and US-led coalition forces would patrol the border strip but be based inside Turkey.

The deal creates "a security mechanism, not safe zone, that assuages Turkey's claims of fearing over its national security," he said.

The YPG already withdrew from the Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain areas, the authority running the SDF region said. The move shows commitment to "reaching a solution through dialogue," the statement said.

About 2,000 US troops have been stationed in the SDF region for years, training and arming the fighters in the battle against Islamic State. </s> BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia has pulled forces and heavy weapons from some positions at the border with Turkey, showing its commitment to ongoing talks, the Kurdish-led authority running much of north and east Syria said.

Turkey and Washington agreed this month to create a joint center for the planned safe zone along Syria’s northeastern border, but gave few details on the size of the zone or the command structure of the forces to operate there.

The YPG withdrew from the Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain areas in recent days, proving it is serious about “reaching a solution through dialogue,” the Kurdish-led authority said. </s> The Kurdish YPG militia will pull forces and heavy weapons from a strip along Syria's border with Turkey under U.S.-Turkish deals, an official in the YPG-led alliance said on Tuesday. 



The YPG withdrew from the Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain border positions in recent days, proving it is serious about ongoing talks, the Kurdish-led authority in north and east Syria said.

The withdrawal marks a sign of progress in talks between Washington and Ankara seeking to resolve deep differences over the presence along the border of Kurdish fighters -- U.S. allies that Turkey sees as enemies.After Ankara repeatedly warned it would launch a military incursion into northeast Syria targeting the YPG, Turkey and the United States said this month they had agreed on the first stages of a security deal along the border.The two countries gave no details of the deal on what Turkey has called a "safe zone" inside Syria. It followed months of stalemate over how far the zone should extend into northeast Syria, still a main source of friction, and who should command forces patrolling it.A senior Turkish official and a top Syrian Kurdish official said points of contention remain over the zone, which Turkey wants to extend 20 miles (32 km) into Syria.The YPG spearheads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, which controls much of north and east Syria. U.S. troops have been stationed in the region for years, training and arming the fighters who seized territory from Islamic State.President Donald Trump announced late last year he would withdraw the U.S. troops, sparking fears among the Kurds of a Turkish attack, but has so far held back from doing so.U.S. support for the YPG has enraged Turkey, which deems the Syrian Kurdish fighters a security threat linked to Kurdish insurgents at home.SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali told Reuters the strip along the border would vary between 5 and 14 km (3-9 miles) and will include rural areas or military positions, not cities or towns.The YPG and SDF will dismantle barricades there and hand over control to military councils of local fighters, he said.Bali said Turkish and U.S.-led coalition forces would patrol the border strip but be based inside Turkey. The deal creates "a security mechanism, not safe zone, that assuages Turkey's claims of fearing over its national security," he added.Senior Kurdish official Badran Jia Kurd said there was no "final deal yet as the talks are ongoing, and the threat remains." He said the YPG move shows commitment to the agreements.Ankara has already sent its military twice into northern Syria to drive the YPG from its borders in recent years. </s> Russian military police have started to patrol the area around the city of Manbij in Syria’s Aleppo governorate. The move follows Syrian government troops entering the area and is aimed at preventing hostilities.

The first patrol was performed by a Russian MP detachment on Tuesday. Footage from the scene shows the military policemen, in full combat gear, being briefed before the mission and then boarding their vehicles.

The video shows the column of several Tigr mobility vehicles and armored trucks driving through the area with their lights flashing. Locals flock to the road to greet the Russian servicemen. Several detachments of government troops can be seen as well as Syria’s national flags.

READ MORE: UK admits Assad to stay ‘around for a while’ – and it’s all because of Russia again

“Today, we’ve begun to patrol the security zone in the area of the settlement of Manbij and its vicinity. The task is to ensure security in the area of responsibility, to control the situation and movements of armed units,” MP spokesman Yusup Mamatov told reporters.

The deployment follows recent changes in the country, prompted by the abrupt US decision to withdraw from Syria that was announced by President Donald Trump in December. The US military has been occupying vast areas in the northeast, supporting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia and its backbone, the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

After the US announcement, the Kurds faced a growing threat of a Turkish invasion which has been promised repeatedly by Ankara. Turkey regards Syrian Kurdish-led militias as “terrorists,” believing the YPG to be an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK). The latter has been waging an insurgency in Turkey’s southeast since 1980s.

READ MORE: US troop pullout from Syria conditional on Turkey's security guarantees for Kurds - Bolton

Late in December, leaders of Kurdish militias controlling the city of Manbij, which lies close to border with Turkey, struck a deal with Damascus, returning control of the area to the government and letting the Syrian troops move in. Last week, the YPG units began to withdraw from Manbij, heading east across the Euphrates river.

to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you. </s> After the United States decided to withdraw troops from Syria, Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) appealed to Damascus to establish control over the areas they had previously occupied, including Manbij, and to protect them from the Turkish invasion. In late December, Syrian troops entered Manbij. In early January, Syrian Defence Ministry reported that about 400 YPG fighters left Manbij and were heading toward the eastern bank of Euphrates to focus on fighting the Daesh* terrorist group.

"Today, patrols have begun to patrol the security zone in the area of the settlement of Manbij and its suburbs. The task is to ensure security in the area of responsibility, to control the position and movement of armed formations," Mamatov said.

The first patrol route of military police officers passed along the rear border of the security zone near Manbij, he explained.

The military patrolled several tens of kilometres in the northern part of the province, and the route will change regularly in the future, Mamatov added.

According to the spokesman, the military police receive from local residents reports about arms dumps and unexploded shells that have remained here since the occupation of the territories by militants.

*Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/Islamic State/IS), a terrorist group banned in Russia and a wide number of other countries. </s> The US-led coalition fighting the group said on Sunday it was working to create a 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria, drawing sharp condemnation from Turkey. With the offensive against IS winding down, the coalition and its allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance were beginning to shift their focus to border security, coalition spokesman Colonel told AFP. "There is a goal of a final force of approximately 30,000," about half of whom would be retrained fighters, he said. "There are approximately 230 individuals that are training right now in the border security force.

That's an inaugural class," Dillon said. Backed by the US-led coalition's air strikes, special forces advisers, and weapons, the has ousted IS from swathes of northeastern Syria. Its Kurdish and Arab members now control territory bordering Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and forces to the west. Turkey reacted sharply to news of the border force on Sunday, saying it would "legitimise a terror organisation". Ankara is fiercely opposed to the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) - considered by the to be a "terrorist" group. "Rather than end its support to the PYD-YPG, these steps taken to legitimise a terror organisation and to make it permanent in the region are worrying," said Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President "Accepting this state of affairs is absolutely not possible," Kalin added. Top media official Mustefa Bali confirmed the creation of the border force and said training had already begun. "We are transitioning to a new phase of coordination between us and the coalition," Bali told AFP. "The wide areas and cities that were liberated need someone to protect them." Bali said the new units would be deployed along the Turkish border and adjacent to territory held by Syrian troops but did not immediately respond to a question on rules of engagement in those areas. Turkey has often targeted YPG positions in northern Syria and, on Sunday, Erdogan threatened to attack the Kurdish-held area of Afrin in northern Syria "in the days ahead". The SDF's relationship with regime forces is less tense. Since last year, a "de-confliction line" cutting diagonally across eastern Syria has largely kept the two forces from clashing. There was no immediate reaction from the to the border force announcement. The coalition declined to comment on possible military protocol when it came to Turkish or regime troops. Dillon said the force was primarily part of a broader strategy to "prevent the resurgence of IS". "With the fight against IS, as the remaining pocket continues to go away, we know that doesn't mean the end of Daesh," he told AFP, using the Arabic acronym for IS. "We'll have to make sure that there is security that can be maintained," he said. Dillon said troops in Syria's east were already coordinating with Iraqi forces across the border to target any "transient movement" by IS fighters between the two countries.
YPG units withdraw from Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ayn as the first stage of the Northern Syria Buffer Zone agreement enters into effect.