Turkish officials didn’t immediately comment on the Kurdish claim, but the senior U.S. official said Turkey would be entitled to use force if Kurdish forces were still within the safe zone. The U.S. is fairly confident that the Kurdish forces are adhering to the agreement, the official said, but added the U.S. didn’t have means to verify the information. Turkey has been requesting confirmation that the Kurdish forces all have left, the senior U.S. official said. The agreement with Washington covers only about a quarter of Mr. Erdogan’s proposed 300-mile-long safe zone. Both sides have accused the other of ceasefire violations, but the truce largely has held in the safe zone, U.S. officials have said.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 22, 2019 17:27 UTC