176K displaced by Turkey offensive into Syria; 150-hour deal reached

BEIRUT — The U.N. says that nearly two weeks after Turkey launched its offensive in northeast Syria more than 176,000 people have been displaced, including nearly 80,000 children, and “critical infrastructure has been damaged.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that power lines have been damaged, reportedly affecting at least four medical facilities.

He said the Alouk water station, which serves more than 400,000 people in Al-Hassakeh city and surrounding displacement camps, has received temporary repairs and generators are now being used to supply safe water for the population in the area.

Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York that Imran Riza, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Syria, said after visiting the northeast that he was grateful U.N. appeals for humanitarian access were successful and water was restored, “averting more serious humanitarian problems.”

Kurdish fighters have to leave

Russian and Turkish leaders have made a deal to share control of Syria’s northeast that requires Kurdish fighters to clear the entire length of the Syria-Turkey border.

The deal allows Turkey to maintain control of areas it pushed into launching its offensive into Syria earlier this month.

The agreement allows Russian and Syrian troops to control the rest of the border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also agreed that their troops will conduct joint patrols of the border area.

The agreement gives Kurdish fighters another 150 hours beginning Wednesday afternoon to clear all remaining areas alongside the 440-kilometer Turkey-Syria border.

Earlier Tuesday, Kurdish forces said they completed their pullout from a zone along the Syrian border as required under a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal hours before it was set to expire Tuesday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday, Erdogan said, the 150-hour time period would begin at noon Wednesday.

Turkey and Russia would then conduct joint patrols, he said.

The agreement came after the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish-led forces withdrew from an area in northern Syria that Turkey demanded be cleared of Kurdish fighters.

Trump approves $4.5M for workers

The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump has authorized $4.5 million to support Syrian rescue workers known as the White Helmets.

Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Tuesday that Trump is urging U.S. allies and partners to also support the Syrian Civil Defense group.

She says the funding, approved Monday, is part of the United States’ continued support for the organization and its work in Syria.

Grisham says that during the eight-year conflict in Syria, the White Helmets have rescued more than 115,000 people. Because the group works in opposition-held areas, they are almost exclusively the only ones to offer rescue services.

The Syrian government and Russia have accused the White Helmets of cooperating with radical insurgent groups.

The White Helmets have enjoyed backing and received finances and training from the U.S. and other Western nations for years.