Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 3 april 2017

Turkish FM: 50,000 return to areas Ankara controls in Syria

rity in these areas should (37 miles) west of Raqqa,
eventually be handed to the de facto capital of the
local forces. Islamic State group.
“People started returning The Britain-based Syrian
to these places,” Cavuso- Observatory for Human
glu said during a visit to the Rights said IS detonated
coastal city of Izmir in west- two vehicles rigged with
ern Turkey. “Our soldiers explosives during the fight-
are still there and we need ing, adding that SDF fight-
to conduct the work there. ers are now trying to cap-
We need to establish a ter- ture the Safsafeh area,
ror-free zone.” which would put Tabqa
“The necessary work needs under total siege. SDF fight-
to be done for security to ers captured an air base
be handed over to local from IS outside Tabqa ear-
forces. We are continuing lier this week.
our work, including train The SDF said in a statement
and equip,” he added. that its fighters repelled an
Turkey sent ground troops IS counteroffensive north-
into northern Syria in Au- west of the city, killing
gust to support Turkey and wounding a number
backed Syrian opposition of extremists. Meanwhile,
Anti-Syrian government fighters carrying their weapons and luggage head to a bus as they leave forces in clearing a bor- in central Syria, hundreds
the last rebel-held neighborhood of al-Waer in Homs province, Syria, Saturday, April. 1, 2017. Syr- der area of Islamic State of opposition fighters and
ian state TV says scores of opposition fighters and their families have left the central city of Homs group militants and to curb their families left the city of
after being evacuated from the last rebel-held neighborhood. Kurdish territorial expan- Homs after being evacuat-
(SANA via AP)
sion. Since then dozens of ed from the last rebel-held
Turkish soldiers have been neighborhood of al-Waer.
BASSEM MROUE backed Kurdish-led fighters ed after its troops and al- killed most of them in an State news agency SANA
Associated Press pressed their offensive in lied rebels secured territory around the northern town said 1,860 people, includ-
BEIRUT (AP) — Tens of thou- the north near a town held along the border between of al-Bab that was once ing 531 fighters, left al-
sands of displaced Syr- by the Islamic State group. Turkey and Syria. and IS stronghold. Waer toward the country’s
ians and refugees have Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu said some Nearby in northern Syria, north in the third evacua-
returned to an area con- Mevlut Cavusoglu’s com- 50,000 people have re- the Syrian Democratic tion from the district in two
trolled by Turkey and Turk- ments came three days turned from Turkey to ar- Forces tried under the cov- weeks. More evacuations
ish-backed opposition after Prime Minister Binali eas that have been cap- er of airstrikes by the U.S.- were scheduled for the
fighters in northern Syria, Yildirim said Turkey’s Oper- tured by Turkish troops and led coalition to besiege the coming weeks.
Turkey’s foreign minister ation Euphrates Shield that Turkey-backed opposition IS stronghold of Tabqa. The State TV showed gunmen,
said Saturday, and U.S.- began in August had end- fighters, adding that secu- city is about 60 kilometers some of them wearing
masks, as they boarded
Israel PM warns enemies at missile defense ceremony buses in the city while car-
rying automatic rifles. The
deal to evacuate al-Waer
JERUSALEM (AP) — A joint ever tries to strike us will be The system became opera- member of the Islamic mili- was brokered by Russia,
U.S.-Israeli missile intercep- hit, those that threaten our tional Sunday amid height- tant group. and Russian troops were
tor meant to counter the existence put themselves in ened tensions along Israel’s An annual intelligence as- seen in the city observing
type of medium-range mis- existential danger.” northern borders with Leba- sessment found that both the evacuation.
siles possessed by Iranian- David Sling’s marks the non and Syria. Hezbollah and Hamas are Unlike the previous two
backed Hezbollah militants completion of Israel’s multi- In a rare clash along the Syr- probably not interested in evacuations, in which the
became operational Sun- tier system that includes ian border last month Israel sparking a war in 2017, but fighters and their fami-
day, completing Israel’s the Arrow, designed to in- shot down an anti-aircraft it warned of the danger of lies headed to the town
multi-layer defense system tercept long-range ballistic missile fired at its planes as a dynamic of escalation of Jarblous on the border
amid tensions on its frontiers missiles in the stratosphere they were carrying out an leading to conflict. with Turkey, Saturday’s
with Syria and Gaza. with an eye on Iran, and airstrike on a suspected He- In February, Hezbollah evacuees headed toward
Prime Minister Benjamin Ne- Iron Dome, which defends zbollah weapons convoy leader Hassan Nasrallah the rebel-held province of
tanyahu said at the unveil- against short-range rockets from Syria to Hezbollah mili- said Hezbollah was not Idlib. Opposition activists
ing ceremony for the Da- from the Gaza Strip. tants in Lebanon. seeking a resumption of have criticized the agree-
vid’s Sling system that de- David’s Sling was devel- Israel is also on alert in the hostilities. But he vowed ment, saying it aims to
fending the home front is of oped by Israeli defense firm south of the country after that if war did begin, his displace 12,000 al-Waer
the “utmost importance.” Rafael with American de- Gaza’s Hamas rulers ac- forces would strike Israel’s residents, including 2,500
He went on to warn “who- fense giant Raytheon. cused it of assassinating a Dimona nuclear facilities.q fighters.q