Turkish Military Confirms Arrival Of 6 US Servicemen For Creation Of Safe Zone In Syria

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2019) The Turkish Defense Ministry has confirmed the arrival of six US military personnel who will be involved in the work of the coordination center for joint operations and the planned security zone in northern Syria.

Earlier on Monday, the Haberturk broadcaster said 90 US military personnel had arrived in the province of Sanliurfa and had been delivered to the center's premises in the town of Akcakale on border with Syria.

"Work has begun on the creation of a joint coordination center with the United States on joint operations and the planned security zone in northern Syria. As part of the preliminary preparations for this, a six-member US delegation has arrived in Sanliurfa.

It is planned that the center will begin to operate in the coming days," the ministry said in a statement.

The United States and Turkey announced a deal last week on a buffer zone between Turkey and Kurdish forces in Syria's northeast, seen in Ankara as an offshoot of the banned separatist PKK group.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to invade the territory east of the Euphrates River to secure the border from Kurdish forces. The Syrian government has objected to the US-Turkish deal as an attack on its sovereignty.