Turkey, US hold joint helicopter flight over Syria

ARK News: Turkish National Defense Ministry on Thursday announced that two Turkish and two U.S. helicopters conducted a joint flight over the eastern Euphrates in Syria.

In a statement on social media, the ministry said the joint helicopter flight was part of the first phase implementations for the establishment of a safe zone in the region.

The first joint reconnaissance flight was carried out with a U.S. helicopter on Aug. 24, said Turkey’s National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar earlier.

Turkish and U.S. military officials reached an agreement on Aug. 7 that the safe zone in northern Syria will serve as a "peace corridor" for displaced Syrians longing to return home and a Joint Operations Center in Turkey will be set up to coordinate its establishment.

Notably, Turkey is currently home to over 3.6 million displaced Syrians who fled the conflict-prone environment of Syria.

In a Thursday statement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey aimed to settle at least a million of these Syrians to the planned safe zone along Turkey's border with Syria.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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