TURKEY DEPLOYS FREE SYRIAN POLICE IN AFRIN

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On May 27, more than 700 policemen and officers of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Police (FSP) were deployed in the northern city of Afrin, according to the pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi. The source said that most of these policemen and officers will soon be redployed from the city to several towns and villages around it.

Syrian opposition sources said that the the Turkish Army had trained and equipped the policemen and officers of the FSP inside Turkey over the last few months. Reportedly, the FSP in Afrin area will be commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rami Tlass who defected from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in 2012.

The city of Afrin witnessed a large wave of looting of crimes which was mainly committed by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) after it had been captured from the Kurdish People’s Units (YPG) on March 24. The city has even witnessed clashes between Turkish-backed groups on several occasions.

Supposedly, the FSP is a part of Turkey’s efforts to stabilize and secure the Afrin area, which should allow more displaced civilians to return to it. However, local observers doubt that the FSP will achieve a success in its mission, as it has already failed in the areas which were captured by the Turkish-acked Euphrates Shield force in 2016 and 2017.

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