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Turkish-backed fighters laud success of suspended Operation Peace Spring

Turkish-backed fighters say the Kurdish dominated People's Protection Units (YPG) better withdraw from the safe zone within the 120-hour deadline under the Oct. 17 US-Turkish Operation Peace Spring agreement or else.
Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters patrol in the border town of Tal Abyad, Syria, October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashaw - RC1B682B5390
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ALEPPO, Syria — The battlefronts between the Turkish army and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) on the one hand and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the other have been relatively calm in Ras al-Ain in Hasakah province and Tell Abyad in Raqqa province. The air and ground shelling halted between the two sides after the United States and Turkey agreed Oct. 17 that Turkey's Operation Peace Spring would be suspended for 120 hours.

The SNA, which is affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, believes that the agreement does not necessarily mean that the battle is over but rather is a time limit for the SDF-led Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to comply with the agreement, most notably by withdrawing from the safe zone some 20 miles (32 kilometers) along the Turkish-Syrian border. 

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