Islam Times - SDF announces its withdrawal from Ras Al Ain

Islam Times - The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias announced their complete withdrawal from the northeastern city of Ras al-Ain under a US-Turkish ceasefire agreement in the region.

SDF spokesman Keno Kabriel said in a statement on Sunday: "As part of the temporary suspension of military operations agreement with the Turkish side, mediated by the US, today the city of Ras al-Ain has been completely evacuated from SDF fighters. We no longer have any fighters inside the city".

The "Agence France Presse" News Agency yesterday quoted regarding the commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, that once his forces withdrew from Ras al-Ain, the withdrawal would end from an area between Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad, with a depth of 30 kilometers and a length of about 120 kilometers.

In turn, the "Syrian Observatory" confirmed that the withdrawal of "SDF" completely from the city besieged by Turkish forces and armed factions loyal to them for several days.

Under an agreement reached by US Vice President Mike Pence in Ankara on Thursday to "suspend" all military operations in northeast Syria for 120 hours, which is expected to end on Tuesday, that Kurdish fighters withdraw from the so-called "safe area" at a depth of 32 kilometers their length has not been determined, the Sputnik news agency reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that his country "closely follow" the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from the "safe area" according to the deadline set in the Turkish-American agreement.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense explained that there are no obstacles to the implementation of the agreement, pointing out that the withdrawal process is in coordination with the United States.

The two sides exchanged accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement, and the Turkish Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that one Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in a small-arms and anti-tank attack in the area of Tal Abyad located more than 100 kilometers west of Ras Al Ain.

On Friday, Amnesty International accused Ankara and its affiliated factions of "war crimes" in their attack on northern Syria.

"Turkish forces and the coalition of armed groups supported by them have shown a disgraceful disregard for the lives of civilians, through serious violations and war crimes, including summary killings and attacks that killed and injured hundreds of civilians," they added.