Turkey sends military reinforcement to its border with Syria

Nine trucks loaded with armored vehicles and one bus carrying military personnel had been sent to the border district of Akcakale, located in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, Turkey's state-owned Anadolu Agency said late on Saturday (October 5).

The convoy was sent to reinforce military units based on the Syrian border, Anadolu said. It was not immediately clear whether the shipment was in preparation for a planned incursion into northeast Syria.

The air and ground operation east of the Euphrates river in Syria could start at any time, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said early on Saturday after accusing Washington of not doing enough to expel Syrian Kurdish fighters from its border.

NATO allies Ankara and Washington agreed in August to set up a zone in northeast Syria along the border but Turkey has accused the United States of moving too slowly to create the zone. They are at odds over how far it should extend into Syria and who should control it.