NATO forms working group to keep an eye on Turkish offensive in Syria

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has established a working group to monitor Turkey 's military operation in northern Syria as per reports. NATO is an international alliance that consists of 29 member states from North America and Europe. A week after the Turkish offensive, the United States and Turkey had announced a truce on halting operations for 120 hours in order to allow Kurdish forces to withdraw from the area within the 18-mile buffer zone.

Read: Turkey Threatens To 'crush' Kurds If They Fail To Withdraw Before Tue

Ankara to provide daily update

Reports suggested that NATO members had a two-hour long discussion on Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria last week on October 16. They decided to put in place a command-like working group that would include intelligence, military, and political experts to monitor the military offensive. 

Ankara in its part has committed to providing a daily update on the progress of its operation, the movement of refugees, and damage inflicted in the course of the offensive.

Reportedly Turkey informed NATO allies that operations will continue until the first half of November. Turkey's operation, known as Operation Peace Spring, began on October 9.

Read: Turkey Wants No Forces Along Turkey-Syria Border To Settle Refugees

Ankara's goal

Ankara's goal is to free the Turkish-Syrian border area from the control of Islamic State and Kurdish militia, and create a security buffer zone where Turkey can relocate some of the 3.6 million refugees it is hosting currently. However, its military offensive has drawn criticism from the international community including Syria, who have urged Turkey to withdraw its troops.

Read: Germany: Thousands Protest Turkey's Military Action In Syria

Recent developments

A week after the Turkish offensive, the United States and Turkey had announced a truce on halting operations for 120 hours. A day later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to continue the operation if Washington fails to honour its commitments for withdrawal of Kurdish troops. 

(With ANI inputs)

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