Syrian regime forces moved towards the Turkish border Monday after Damascus reached a deal with beleaguered Kurdish forces following a withdrawal announcement by the United States, AFP correspondents reported.
Soldiers waving Syrian flags deployed west of Tal Tamr, not far from the flashpoint border town of Ras al-Ain, which has been a key target of Turkish forces and their proxies since they launched their onslaught six days ago.
Tal Tamr is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said some units in the area had moved as close as six kilometers (four miles).
AFP correspondents said the government forces were met by cheering residents and Syrian state television aired footage of people welcoming the soldiers.
SANA did not say from which area the Syrian army had moved into the town.
Tal Tamr is a predominantly Assyrian Christian town that was once held by IS before it was retaken by Kurdish-led forces. Many Syrian Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million, left for Europe over the past 20 years, with the flight gathering speed since the country’s conflict began in March 2011.
Syria’s state news agency later said government forces entered the northern town of Tabqa and its air base that carries the same name, as well as several other villages on the southern parts of Raqqa province.
Tabqa was previously a stronghold of the Islamic State jihadist group, and is on the road to the city of Raqqa, which was IS’ de facto capital, until it lost both in 2017. READ MORE
