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Turkey’s president: Kurdish fighters withdrawing

(AP) – Turkey’s president say Syrian Kurdish fighters are withdrawing from parts of northeast Syria. That follows a cease-fire agreement reached between Turkey and the United States a day earlier.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul Friday that his country’s defense minister confirmed that the Kurdish fighters had begun withdrawing. However, Erdogan says Turkish troops will remain in northeast Syria to monitor whether “this terror organization (is) truly leaving the area.”

Erdogan and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence agreed late Thursday to a five-day cease-fire, halting Turkey’s weeklong offensive against Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria.

But on Friday, Associated Press journalists, activists and a Syria war monitor group have reported continued fighting around the northeast town of Ras al-Ayn, which is part of the cease-fire agreement.

Erdogan however, denies that clashes were ongoing, saying: “I don’t know where you’re getting your news from. According to the news I received from my defense minister, there is no question of clashes. These are all speculation, disinformation.”

The Turkish leader said he would hold further talks on northeast Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.

He said: “With these discussions, God willing we will bring peace to the area.”

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