More shelling and gunfire were heard in northeast Syria on Friday, just hours after Turkey had agreed to a five-day pause in military operations there to allow Kurdish forces to move out of the area.
Kim Jae-hee has the details.
The sound of gunfire and shelling was heard around the northeast Syrian town of Ras al Ain on Friday.
Reuters reported that smoke rose from the town, but it is still unclear what damage was caused by the shelling.
This comes just thirteen hours after U.S. and Turkey have agreed to a five-day pause in Turkey's military operation in northeast Syria to allow for the withdrawal of Kurdish forces.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence revealed the news of that pause after talks in Ankara on Thursday local time.
"It will be a pause in military operations for 120 hours while the United States facilitates the withdrawal of YPG from the affected areas in the safe zone."
He said the Kurds would move out of the safe zone over the five days and Turkey's Operation Peace Spring would be halted entirely on the completion of the withdrawal, adding that Washington and Ankara were "mutually committed to a peaceful resolution and future for the safe zone."
The temporary pause in Turkey was praised by President Donald Trump, who said it would save "millions of lives."
However, reports say it is unclear whether the Kurdish-led forces will fully comply with the agreement.
CNN also quoted James Jeffrey, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, saying Turkey does not use the word 'ceasefire', because the agreement of the pause of Turkey’s military operation will be focused on areas that Turkey had already moved into.
Meanwhile, all U.S. forces in northern Syria are still withdrawing from the area,... meaning there will be no monitoring of the 5-day ceasefire.
Russian troops will take their place, but stateless Kurds still remain in danger.
Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.
