By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - "Plenty of Turks" have died as a result of conflicts on Turkey's borders, U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday in defense of his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.
"You have to look at both ways," Trump told reporters as he convened with top officials at the White House. "We’re having very good news coming out. The ceasefire’s holding."
Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northeastern Syria in order to secure Turkey's borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria's territorial integrity.
On Oct. 17, Turkey agreed to pause the operation for 120 hours to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the planned safe zone.