Amid military mobilizations, The Turkish army clears landmines in the border area with northern Syria
Qamishli – North-Press Agency
Dilsoz Yusuf
A military source in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has told North-Press that explosions were heard in the border area adjacent to the area of Sari Kani/Ras al-Ain, northeastern Syria, explaining: “It was confirmed that the Turkish army was cleansing the mined zone, amid large military mobilizations along the Syrian-Turkish borders.”
The source affirmed that the Turkish army “deliberately burned the adjacent fields to the border area of Ras al-Ain, in order to remove the previously planted landmines in no man’s land”, yesterday evening.
According to the source, the burned area by the Turkish army extends from the western village of Tal Halaf till Ras Al Ain, and from the eastern village of Alouk till Darbasiyah, approximately about 20 km long.
North-Press has received night pictures indicate fires along the border area while clearing the landmines.
The source also pointed out that the Turkish army intensified its recent military mobilizations along the borders stretching from the city of Tal Abyad in the west to the city of Darbasiyah in the east, heavily armed with heavy weapons (armored vehicles, tanks, and cannons), in addition to turning off the border lighting during the night hours.
Moreover, according to military intelligence sources revealed to North-Press that the Turkish army in a previous time, had evacuated “Tal Hammoud” camp for Syrian refugees on the Turkish side parallel to Ras al-Ain, and the Turkish soldiers were stationed in the camp instead, indicating their numbers ranged between 250 and 300 Turkish soldiers.
The military sources believe that the suspicious movements of the Turkish army on the Syrian-Turkish borders pave the way for a military incursion, indicating that in case of a Turkish attack, it would be launched in the cleansed area from the landmines, as it did during its invasion of Afrin region more than a year ago.
While during a meeting with editors-in-chief of Turkish media establishments in Istanbul yesterday, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed about expected steps by his country in the areas of Tal Abyad and Tal Rifaat in northern Syria, aiming at turning what he had called “the terrorist belt” into a safe zone.