Click to see full-size image, by the Ministry of Defense of Turkey
Joint Turkish-U.S. patrols in the so-called “peace corridor” in northeastern Syria are set to begin on Sunday, Turkey’s national defense minister announced.
“We plan to start the joint ground patrols on September 8 … There is a general agreement on which we expect the activities to be carried out at a certain sequence and pace,” Hulusi Akar said on September 6 during inspections in the eastern Malatya province, according to the Anadolu Agency.
Akar noted that Turkey and the U.S. had begun air patrols with both helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the “peace corridor.”
Turkey and the U.S. reached the “peace corridor” agreement, last month. The agreement is meant to address Ankara’s security concerns in northeastern Syria, where the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are in control.
The SDF has been complying with the Turkish-U.S. agreement, so far. Last month, several units of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) were withdrawn from the “peace corridor.” The group also destroyed some of its fortifications along the border with Turkey.
Damascus, on the other side, rejected the agreement, calling it an “aggression” against country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
