AIN AL-ARAB. Oct 24 (Interfax) - Russian military police have embarked on the first patrol in the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab near the border with Turkey, in the first such mission for Russian military police this far beyond the Euphrates River, spokesman for the command of Russia's group of forces in Syria Igor Seritsky, who took part in the patrol, told reporters.
"In accordance with the agreements reached between the heads of the Russian Federation and the Turkish Republic, units of military police of the Russian Federation began patrolling along the Syrian-Turkish border from midday on October 23. The patrol zone includes, among other localities, the town of Ain al-Arab - our military policemen have never been this far beyond the Euphrates before. The base is located at a frontier post several kilometers from Ain al-Arab and two kilometers from Turkish territory. It offers a good view of the border itself and the outskirts of the town," Seritsky said.
The base is on a dominating hill and has a cell tower, among other equipment, he said. It is from this point that Russian military police and Syrian border guards will oversee the withdrawal of Kurdish self-defense units and their weapons.
Minister of Civil Defense in the administration of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) Ismet Sheikh Hassan greeted a convoy of Russian Tigr armored vehicles and announced his readiness to help deal with any issues.
"We realize the importance of your presence in this area and are, of course, ready to cooperate," an SDF spokesman said.
Ain al-Arab, which the Kurds refer to as Kobani, is a town in the east of Syria's Aleppo province. Syrian government forces took control of Ain al-Arab only a few days ago. Prior to that, since January 2015, the town had been under the control of the coalition of the U.S. backed-SDF, after Kurdish units and their allies fought off terrorists from Islamic State (banned in Russia) there.