Erdogan: Kurdish Militia Has Yet to Vacate Syrian Border Strip

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Kurdish YPG militia remains in parts of a 20-mile-deep border zone it was supposed to abandon according to a cease-fire agreement brokered with the United States, and also according to a deal made with Russia for its soldiers patrol the region. “These areas are not [entirely] cleared of terrorists,” Erdogan said on Tuesday during a meeting of his AK Party at the parliament in Ankara. Speaking to reporters afterwards, he also complained that US forces were still conducting joint patrols with the YPG. “How can we explain America undertaking patrols with terrorist organizations in this region even though they made the decision to withdraw? This is not in our agreement,” he said, referring to the cease-fire deal. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist organization, saying it actively assists Turkish Kurds agitating for autonomy. It says it launched its October 9 incursion into Syria in part to push it away from the border.