Turkey begins joint patrols with Russia in northern Syria

KIZILTEPE, Turkey: Turkey started joint patrols with Russia in northern Syria Friday to verify whether Kurdish forces have withdrawn from a key border zone in compliance with a deal reached between the two governments.

The patrols, which began just before noon (1000 GMT), follow an agreement they signed in the Black Sea resort of Sochi last week which gave Kurdish forces 150 hours to withdraw from a band of territory along the border, in a process that Russia said was now complete.

They add to the complicated mix of forces operating along the frontier, including US troops who patrolled an eastern section on Thursday for the first time since US President Donald Trump said last month the troops were withdrawing. The patrols on Friday began near the border town of Derbasiyeh, from which Kurdish fighters have already pulled out, an AFP correspondent on the Turkish side of the border reported.

The soldiers headed to the east of Derbasiyeh in a convoy of Turkish and Russian military vehicles to patrol a strip of territory several dozen kilometres long, according to Turkish military sources. The Russian army said in a statement that the convoy consisted of nine vehicles, protected by an armoured personnel carrier, and that it would cover more than 110 kilometres (68 miles).

The Turkish defence ministry confirmed in a tweet that the patrols “with ground and air units are underway”. The ministry said in a separate tweet that a meeting with a Russian military delegation was planned in Ankara to discuss “tactical and technical issues”.

Iraqi Kurds boycott Turkish goods after Syria assault: Shopkeepers in Iraq’s Kurdish region have been responding to activists’ calls to boycott Turkish goods in protest at Ankara’s assault on Kurdish forces in neighbouring Syria.

From pomegranates to plastic buckets, yoghurt and beauty products, Iraq imports more than $8 billion worth of Turkish goods a year through its autonomous Kurdish north. But activists have set their sights on those imports in response to Turkey’s controversial two-week offensive against the Kurdish-run administration in northern Syria.

The assault has left dozens dead and displaced hundreds of thousands, including more than 12,000 who fled into the neighbouring Kurdish-run part of northern Iraq. “We can’t reach the front lines to fight the Turkish government with arms, so our weapon is a boycott of Turkish goods,” said Hamid Banyee, an Iraqi Kurdish singer and one of the boycott organisers.

“We’re looking to expand the campaign to include all parts of society, which will be a fatal blow to the Turkish economy,” he told AFP in Sulaimaniyah. Activists in the northeastern city have distributed flyers in markets encouraging consumers to pass on Turkish products and are lobbying retailers to halt those imports altogether.

They have even explored a possible ban on Turkish movies and songs in the region. Zana Ahmad, 28, gestured to well-stocked shelves of facial creams, gels and eyeliners in his shop, including Turkish, American and European brands. “After the Turkish attack on Syria’s Kurds, we decided to stop importing Turkish goods and are trying to find alternatives,” he said.