Syrian regime soldiers taken prisoner by Turkish-allied Syrian National Army would "have their status settled on Wednesday" and be released soon, Russia's RT Arabic-language service reported on Tuesday.
Eighteen soldiers were captured after heavy clashes on Tuesday between Syrian regime forces and Turkish-backed fighters near the city of Ras al-Ain, which was recently evacuated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Six regime soldiers were killed in the clashes, one of them reportedly summarily executed by fighters from the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad division.
The fighting took place despite an agreement between Turkey and Russia regarding the evacuation of SDF troops from a 30-kilometre zone along the border between Turkey and Syria, between the towns of Ras Al-Ain and Tal Abyad.
After Turkey launched its "Operation Peace Spring" offensive against the Kurdish-led SDF earlier this month, the SDF invited Assad regime and Russian troops to enter areas they control in northern Syria, such as the cities of Kobane, Manbij, and Qamishli.
The Turkish defence ministry said on Tuesday that "18 people who claimed to be regime soldiers were captured during an operation to comb, scout, and secure the area southeast of Ras al-Ain".
One video showed them being forced to lie on the ground while Turkish-backed fighters shouted at them.
The regime troops Wednesday were engaged in heavy clashes with Turkish forces and the SNA in the countryside around the border town of Ras al Ain, according to Reuters.
The SNA has pressed into the town of Tal Tamr northwest of Hasaka city, seeking to control strategic road links between Tal Tamr and Abu R’sayin area. .
In relevant development, Mazloum Abdi, the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces, has rejected via his Twitter account a plan by the regime’s Defense Ministry for the Kurdish-led forces to join the military as individuals, not as a whole.
Abdi said the solution should have been based on the SDF proposal of keep the SDF in areas it controls and to become part of the Syrian defense system.
Eight years of war in Syria have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighbouring countries.
(Zaman Al Wasl, The New Arab
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