ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency is quoting the country’s defense minister as saying that a joint operation room with the United States has begun its activities as part of a deal for a safe zone in northeastern Syria.
Hulusi Akar said Saturday two generals from Turkey and the U.S. were in charge of the center in the province of Sanliurfa and the first joint helicopter flights were to begin.
Turkey wants to push U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish militias - which it considers terrorists linked to an insurgency at home - away from its borders.
The minister also criticized the Syrian government for violating a de-escalation agreement in northwestern Idlib province after it captured a string of villages.
Akar said Turkey would retaliate if observations posts manned by Turkish troops are attacked.
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