22 February 2018 - 20:26

YPG agrees to hand Tell Rifaat control to Syrian army: official

<p style="text-align: left;">The Kurdish Self-Defense Forces (YPG) and the Syrian armed forces have agreed on the transfer of control over the town of Tell Rifaat in northern Aleppo province to the Syrian army, the government troops will enter the settlement in the next few hours, a Syrian security source told Sputnik on Thursday.

The day before YPG representative in nearby Afrin Brusk Haseke confirmed to Sputnik that Syrian forces had arrived in the city despite Turkish Air Forces' shelling.

"An agreement has been reached to pass control of the town of Tell Rifaat in Aleppo province from YPG units to the Syrian army. The Syrian army will enter the town within a few hours," the source said.

The decision comes amid reports that Afrin Kurds had reached an agreement with Damascus to sent the government forces in Afrin to counter the Turkish military operation in the region.

Reports confirmed later that the Syrian government forces had entered the town.

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refuted the reports on Tuesday, saying that a convoy of pro-Syrian government forces, which tried to enter the besieged Syrian city of Afrin, retreated under the Turkish warning fire in the area.

According to the latest information provided to Sputnik by YPG representative in Afrin Brusk Haseke the day before, Syrian forces had arrived in Afrin despite shelling.

Reporter’s code: 50101

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