A Russian-Turkish agreement on settling the situation in Tal Tamr, north eastern Syria
The perimeter of the town of Tal Tamr in the western countryside of Al Hasakah has witnessed more military reinforcements.
Reinforcements aimed at increasing the pressure on the SDF and expelling it from the strategically important town, where the main roads linking the cities and villages of the region intersect.
Turkish interest in this front was shown by pushing heavy equipment, weapons and tanks into its surroundings, as dozens of vehicles loaded with elements of Syrian armed factions crossed from the border town of Sukkariyah to villages and towns in the northern perimeter of the town of Tal Tamr.
These moves are accompanied by negotiations with Ankara to resolve the town and the international road.
Tal Tamr is important in that it is located on the Aleppo – Hasakah International Road (M4).
It is also a link between Hasakah and the other governorates, and it overlooks the Qamishli-Tal Tamr road leading to Darbasiyah and Amuda, making it a basis for expanding Turkish attacks in these areas.
For more than two weeks, the area around the town has witnessed large-scale clashes between the SDF and the Turkish-backed National Army, which led to the latter’s control of dozens of villages and towns, the latest of which is Qasimiya, Al Faisaliah and Al ‘Arisha, and its proximity to less than 5 km from Tel Tamr, from the northwest.
The escalation of clashes and attacks with heavy artillery and drones in areas close to the town, led to the displacement of large numbers of the town and the surrounding villages, with the remaining residents feared the destruction of their town and theft of property if the gunmen arrived.
At the door of one of the shops that remained open during the fighting, a group of young men asserted that they stayed to keep their property from looting.
“The situation in the town is no longer good”, said one young man.
“Most people have fled for fear of criminalization by armed groups”.
“The people of the city hope that their town will be neutralized from the fighting”, he said.
The town has been witnessing for two days, a marked reduction in the intensity of military confrontations, amid talk of reaching a ceasefire agreement between the Russian and Turkish sides.
While the SDF, in the words of its spokesperson Keno Kebriel, denies that “there is any ceasefire agreement in Tal Tamr and the perimeter of the international road”.
An informed field sources confirmed an agreement is being prepared between the Turkish and Russian sides to end the conflict of Tal Tamr and the international road.
The sources reveal that «the agreement includes a full withdrawal of the section of Tal Tamr and its environs, and the perimeter of the international road, with the withdrawal of militants belonging to Ankara 4 km north of the international road, and the deployment of the Syrian army in all those areas, in addition to the Russian military police».
The sources, said that «the leadership of the SDF agreed to the agreement, with the requirement to keep the forces of the Asayish inside the town, which is rejected by Turkey», saying that «the last SDF statement is to pressure Russia, in order to maintain forces Asayish and self-management institutions within the town».
It is expected that the coming hours will see the resolution of this file, with information on the start of Moscow to establish a military center near the town of Umm Al Kaif, in the northern countryside of Tal Tamr, to monitor the implementation of the terms of the agreement in the region.
In the meantime, a US convoy of logistical equipment arrived yesterday at the Himo base, where US forces are stationed west of the city of Qamishli in the northeastern countryside of Hasakah.
The convoy came from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, carrying cement blocks commonly used in the construction and fortification of military bases.
