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Ankara grapples with security, repatriation in Syria as cease-fire deadline expires

Security challenges loom for the new Turkish-administered safe zone in Syria as the deadline expires for the withdrawal of Kurdish forces.
Turkish soldiers in a military vehicle return from the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, as they are pictured on the Turkish-Syrian border in Akcakale, Turkey, October 24, 2019. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1ED886E960

An air of volatility hangs over the newly created "safe zone" in northeast Syria following a two-week Turkish incursion to eradicate US-backed Kurdish forces from its southern border.

Hours before a cease-fire negotiated between Turkish and Russian officials — allowing for the withdrawal the People’s Protection Units (YPG) element of Kurdish-led forces that held the area since 2014 — was set to expire at 3 p.m. GMT today, Syrian regime forces clashed with the Turkish military, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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