ISTANBUL — Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria withdrew from a flash point town as part of a cease-fire agreement with Turkey, a spokesman said Sunday, a move that could ease tensions amid U.S.-led efforts to quell a spiraling conflict. “We don’t have any more fighters in the city.”Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to resume a military offensive in northeastern Syria if Kurdish fighters didn’t retreat from designated border areas by Tuesday evening, the deadline in the cease-fire pact. Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Turkey last week to negotiate a halt to the fighting as U.S. troops stationed in northeastern Syria prepared to withdraw. Sporadic clashes between the SDF and Turkish forces and their proxies in recent days in Ras al-Ain, on the border with Turkey, threatened to undo the fragile agreement. Under the deal, Turkish forces would halt military operations for 120 hours to allow the SDF to retreat.

Source: National Post October 20, 2019 21:00 UTC