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{{Disputed|A buffer zone and a DMZ|date=October 2019}}
{{OriginalResearch|date=October 2019}}
{{OriginalResearch|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox military installation|name=Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone|native_name=|image=|caption=|location=[[Syrian-Turkish border]], [[Syria]]|image_map=|image_map_caption=|type=[[Demilitarised zone]]|controlledby=[[Syrian Army]] and [[Russian Military Police]]|builder={{plainlist|
{{Infobox military installation|name=Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone|native_name=|image=|caption=|location=[[Syrian-Turkish border]], [[Syria]]|image_map=|image_map_caption=|type=[[Demilitarised zone]]|controlledby=[[Syrian Army]] and [[Russian Military Police]]|builder={{plainlist|

Revision as of 05:54, 25 October 2019

Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone
Syrian-Turkish border, Syria
TypeDemilitarised zone
Length121 kilometres (75 mi) long and 29 kilometres (18 mi) deep
Site information
Controlled bySyrian Army and Russian Military Police
Open to
the public		No
ConditionImplementation ongoing
Site history
Built by
In useSince 22 October 2019
EventsSyrian Civil War

The Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone, also referred to as the Safe Zone, is a demilitarized zone (DMZ) and part of an ongoing agreement which seeks to end Turkey's offensive into north-eastern Syria.[1][4] The deal is inspired by, but is significantly different from the First Northern Syria Buffer Zone.

Background

Main articles: Northern Syria Buffer Zone and 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria

Following months of tension and threats, the First Northern Syria Buffer Zone was established in mid August 2019, between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the United States one on hand, and Turkey on the other. The deal aimed to prevent a Turkish invasion of Northern Syria trough a process of gradual withdrawal, removal of fortrifications and joint US-Turkish monitoring and patrols, while still allowing the area to remain under the civil control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the military control of the Syrian Democratic Forces military councils. Despite the initial good start of the deal's implementation,[a] however, Turkey grew more and more dissatisfied with it, issuing more demands which were rejected by the SDF.[5][6]

In early October that same year, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US forces from the region, which allowed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dismiss the first buffer zone deal and launch his 2019 offensive into north-eastern Syria against the SDF. Having previously dismantled their fortrifications and having their positions observed as part of the first deal, and now stripped of military backing, SDF units faced an extremely uphill challenge in having to defend their territory against both the Turkish Army and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army.[7][8] Despite initally offering armed resistance, SDF units were nonetheless forced to withdraw, triggering a refugee wave of over 300,000 people, amid Kurdish fears that Turkey would resort to ethnic cleansing against the Kurdish population.[9] Although Turkey's invasion was widely condemned internationally, the SDF stood little chance against the Turkish-TFSA offensive. Amid what one SDF commander described as a choice between "compromise and genocide", the SDF turned to the Syrian Government, with which they have had a lukewarm realtionship, for help.[10][11]

The United States negotiated a 5-day ceasefire in Northern Syria on October 17, which required the group to withdraw from the border areas, but at the same time allowed the SDF time to negotiate further with Russia and the Syrian government.[12]

Seeking to avoid further expansion of Turkish control within Syria's territory, Bashar al-Assad's government agreed to a deal to enter the Syrian Army into the border areas, where it would share control with the SDF.[13]

Shortly following the initial entry of Syrian Army troops into SDF territories, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Erdogan announced that they had struck a deal, which would end the Turkish invasion.[1]

Terms

The deal, reached on 22 October 2019 in Sochi, was reported to have included the following terms:[1][4][14][15][16][17][18]

  • A Buffer Zone would be established in Northern Syria. The zone would be around 18 miles (29 km) deep,[b] stretching across the entire width of the previously SDF-held border areas to the west and east of Qamishli[c] and totalling in about 75 miles (121 km) in width.
  • The buffer zone will be controlled jointly by the Syrian and Russian militaries.
  • All YPG forces, which constitute the majority of the SDF, must withdraw from the buffer zone along with their weapons within 150 hours from the announcement of the deal. Their withdrawal will be overseen by Russian Military Police and Syrian Border Guards, which would enter the zone at noon on 23 October.
  • The YPG will also withdraw from to the cities of Manbij and Tell Rifaat.[d]
  • Following the YPG withdrawal, joint Russian-Turkish ground patrols would be held in the buffer zone area, but only within a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) depth from the border.[e]
  • Turkey will retain sole control of the areas it had captured during its offensive between the towns of Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ayn.
  • The Syrian Government would construct and man 15 border posts on the Turkish-Syrian border.
  • The parties would launch a joint effort to resettle Syrian refugees in a "safe and voluntary manner".
  • The parties agree to "perserve the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria" as well as protect the "national security of Turkey".

Implementation timeline

  • On 22 October, senior YPG officials stated that the group had completed it's withdrawal from the buffer zone region.[19]
  • On 23 October, Russian forces conducted their first patrol in Northern Syria.[20]
  • On 24 October, the SDF accused Turkey of violating the deal by launching a ground offensive against three villages in the country's north.
    • Russia stated that the implementation of the zone was "on track" and announced that it was sending additional military policemen and heavy equipment to aid in its implementation.
    • The SDF announced that the Kurdish fighters had already withdrawn from the buffer zone and added that the SDF was ready to merge with the Syrian Army, once a political settlement had been reached.[21][22]

Reactions

  • Syrian Democratic Forces - The SDF stated that they consider themselves as "Syrian and a part of Syria", adding that they will agree to work with the Syrian Government.[23]
  •  Syria - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad thanked the Russian President for his role in the negotiation of the deal and expressed his full support for it. At the same time, he raised concerns about Turkish interference in Syrian affairs and dubbed Turkish President Erdogan a "thief".[16][24]
  •  Iran - Iran's foreign ministry called the agreement "a positive step" and stated that it "backed any move to restore stability in the region".[16]
  •  United States - US President Donald Trump praised the deal that he viewed as allowing "someone else [to] fight over this long bloodstained land", following which he ordered the lifting of the sanctions that he had placed on Turkey nine days prior as a reaction to the start of Turkey's offensive.[25]

Notes

  1. ^ As defined by the US and SDF, based on the beginning of the YPG withdrawal, the destruction of border fortrifications and the start of US-Turkish joint patrols in late August.
  2. ^ Starting from the Syrian-Turkish border and heading south into Syria
  3. ^ The city of Qamisli is expressly excluded from the buffer zone in the deal.
  4. ^ Both of these cities are further to the south and not covered by the depth of the buffer zone, but are nonetheless explicitly mentioned in the agreement.
  5. ^ No joint patrols will be held in the remaining part of the buffer zone.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Washington, Bethan McKernan Julian Borger in (2019-10-22). "Turkey and Russia agree on deal over buffer zone in northern Syria". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  2. ^ "Kurdish forces strike deal with Damascus, Moscow to repel Turkey".
  3. ^ "Putin and Erdogan just did a deal on Syria. The US is the biggest loser".
  4. ^ a b "Turkey, Russia reach deal for YPG move out of Syria border area". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  5. ^ "Erdoğan cites U.S.-Turkey disagreement over safe zone as joint patrols begin in Syria". Ahval. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  6. ^ "Safe Zone: Existing Project But Deferred Details". Enab Baladi. 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  7. ^ Ozcan, Giran (2019-10-14). "The Kurds have faced their own 'endless war'. And this is a dark new chapter | Giran Ozcan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  8. ^ Altman, Howard (2019-10-10). "Cut off from US help, Kurds fighting a desperate battle against Turkey on their own, says a former commando who describes himself as 'disillusioned' and 'embarrassed'". Military Times. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  9. ^ "Turkish military operation east Euphrates kills more than 70 civilians so far and forces nearly 300 thousand people to displace from their areas • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  10. ^ Abdi, Mazloum. "If We Have to Choose Between Compromise and Genocide, We Will Choose Our People". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  11. ^ "SDF commander: Trump did not oppose deal with Damascus to fend off Turkish offensive". Reuters. 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  12. ^ Seligman, Lara. "Kurds Lose Again as Russia Brokers New Deal". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  13. ^ "Report: Syrian army to enter SDF-held Kobani, Manbij". Reuters. 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  14. ^ Fahim, Kareem; DeYoung. "Russia and Turkey reach deal to push Kurdish forces out of zone in northern Syria". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-10-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ Fraser, Suzan; AP, Vladimir Isachenkov |. "Russia, Turkey seal power in northeast Syria with new accord". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  16. ^ a b c "Russia deploys troops to Turkey-Syria border". 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  17. ^ EDT, Tom O'Connor On 10/23/19 at 11:49 AM (2019-10-23). "Russia shows off new Syria map, sends troops to border after its deal with Turkey". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-10-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Soylu, Ragıp (2019-10-22). "LATEST — Here is the complete text of Turkish, Russian agreement on Northern Syria, that pushed YPG 30km from Turkish, Syria borderpic.twitter.com/jwiOurbfa3". @ragipsoylu. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  19. ^ "Kurds Say Pullout from Syrian Border Region Complete Hours Before Deal Expires". News18. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  20. ^ "Russian forces conduct first patrol in northern Syria – Peace Spring". TRT World. 24 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ "Syrian Kurds accuse Turkey of violations, Russia says peace plan on track". Reuters. 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  22. ^ "Syrian Democratic Forces to Join Army after Settlement". Asharq AL-awsat. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  23. ^ "Kurdish Reaction To Turkey-Russia Deal To Patrol Northern Syria". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  24. ^ "Turkey, Russia agree to clear Kurdish fighters and control the Syria-Turkey border". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  25. ^ "Trump lifts sanctions on Turkey over Syria assault". 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
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