Turkey’s Erdoğan warns of renewed fighting if Kurds don’t withdraw

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that Turkey may continue its offensive in northern Syria after the expiration of a cease-fire agreement if Kurdish forces do not withdraw.

Last week, Vice President Pence announced that there would be a temporary cease-fire to permit Kurdish YPG fighters to withdraw from a safe zone near the Turkey-Syria border. 

{mosads}“If the promises given to us by America are not kept, we will continue our operation from where it left off, this time with a much bigger determination,” Erdoğan said Tuesday, according to Reuters.

He also said that hundreds of YPG fighters had not yet withdrawn. 

“We are talking about 700-800 [YPG fighters] already withdrawn and the rest, around 1,200-1,300, are continuing to withdraw. It has been said that they will withdraw,” Erdoğan told reporters. “All will have to get out, the process will not end before they are out.”

Reuters reported that the halt to the violence is expected to end at 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria shortly after the White House announced a troop withdrawal earlier this month.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday said that troops will be relocated to western Iraq, where they will fight against ISIS forces.