(Zaman Al Wasl)- Turkish-backed forces have clashed with Kurdish YPG militia near the town of Ayn Issa in northeastern Syria despite a Russian-brokered deal to withdraw from the planned ‘Safe Zone’, local activists said Friday.
The artillery of the Syrian National Army has pounded the villages of al-Dibs, al-Tina, Shweihan and al-Mullaq while the clashes reported in the villages of al-Mabouja and Kour Hassan.
Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters seized areas in northeastern Syria in a military offensive launched nearly two months ago.
Ankara wants YPG militia to withdraw from the region so that a safe zone can be created to pave the way for the safe return of some two million refugees.
Meanwhile, the German government says the leaders of Turkey, Britain, Germany and France will meet to discuss the
situation in Syria before a NATO summit in London opens next week.
German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said Friday that Chancellor Angela Merkel will get together with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron after she arrives in the British capital on Tuesday.
Turkey’s unilateral decision to intervene in northern Syria without warning its allies has been a source of tension in NATO.
NATO leaders will meet in London on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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.
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