Ankara arrests Assad supporters with Russia’s consent
The Turkish Defense Ministry reported that 18 people linked to Bashar al-Assad’s government have been detained near the captured Syrian city of Ras al-Ayn. The Turkish department called them “elements of the regime” in a tweet.
Turkey claims that the matter was coordinated with Russia.
Ankara did not specify the circumstances of the arrests. There is also no information on whether or not the detainees are Syrian government soldiers. The Syrian state news agency SANA has not yet commented on the report.
Recently there have been reports of clashes between Syrian and Turkish forces in the region of Ras al-Ayn. However, the Russian Defense Ministry claims that the agreements between the parties have been complied with.
On the evening of October 29, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu announced the premature withdrawal of Kurdish regiments from the security zone on the Syria-Turkey border. The Defense Ministry also added that the Syrian government army has already established 84 border posts in the region of Qamishli and Kobane.
According to Major General Yury Borenkov, head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, Russian military police have been patrolling the 10 km security zone on the Syria-Turkey border since October 23.