Turkey violates deal to pause Syrian fighting, officials say
Shortly after Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a deal to allow the Kurdish People’s Protection Units to evacuate the northern Syrian battlefield, Turkey continued its offensive into northern Syria early today.
Turkey began violating a deal to temporarily halt its offensive into northern Syria early today, US officials told Al-Monitor as reports emerged from the ground of artillery attacks against Kurdish fighters and civilians in a city where American and Turkish forces recently held joint patrols.
By Friday afternoon, the Turkish military had advanced on Ras al-Ain, a senior US official said, one of the sites of the joint "security mechanism" in northern Syria the Pentagon established to assuage Turkey’s concerns over the Kurdish military presence.
