The Ukraine crisis coincided with a Russian crackdown on independent online media. New laws since then have brought new restrictions, and the Internet adviser to President Vladimir Putin tells Current Time that China is the model for further online regulation. This story is part of a documentary series, InterNYET, by Current Time that explores the history of the Russian web.
Watchdog
Saturday 19 October 2019
Turkish-led bombardment killed 14 civilians in northeastern Syria on October 18, a war monitor said, despite a U.S.-brokered cease-fire that went into effect overnight.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the 14 were killed in Turkish air strikes and mortar fire by allied Syrian fighters on and around the village of Bab Al-Kheir, east of the border town of Ras Al-Ayn.
Eight fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were also killed, the Britain-based group said.
SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali accused Turkey of violating the terms of the agreement reached during an October 17 visit to Ankara by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
“Air and artillery attacks continue to target the positions of fighters, civilian settlements, and the hospital" in Ras Al-Ayn, he said.
Under the deal, all fighting was to halt for five days and the United States was to help facilitate the withdrawal of Kurdish-led troops from a "safe zone" sought by Turkey along the border.
In Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the agreement was holding and there had been no issues so far.
He warned that Ankara would restart its offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria on October 22 if they did not withdraw.
Turkish armed forces would remain in the region "because the security there requires this," Erdogan also said.
U.S. President Donald Trump later said Erdogan had told him "there was minor sniper and mortar fire that was quickly eliminated."
"He very much wants the ceasefire, or pause, to work. Likewise, the Kurds want it, and the ultimate solution, to happen," Trump tweeted.
Turkey launched its ground and air offensive in northeastern Syria last week, saying it wanted to clear the area of a Kurdish militia that Ankara views as a terrorist group, and establish a buffer zone to resettle Syrian refugees.
The move came after Trump's abrupt decision announced last week to withdraw forces from the area where they had been supporting the SDF in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.
Based on reporting by AFP and dpa
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