Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (1st R) shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu in Damascus, capital of Syria, March 19, 2019. (Xinhua/Syrian Presidency)
The police forces will help maintain law and order, execute patrol missions and assist in the withdrawal of Kurdish units.
MOSCOW, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Around 300 Russian military policemen have been dispatched to northern Syria for deployment near the Turkish border, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
The police forces, transfered from Russia's Chechen republic located in the North Caucasus, will help maintain law and order, the ministry said in a statement.
They will also execute patrol missions and assist in the withdrawal of Kurdish units from a safe zone being established in northern Syria, it said.
This is the second batch of Russian military police deployed in northern Syria after a Russia-Turkey memorandum was signed Tuesday on establishing the safe zone.
The first group started executing assignments on Wednesday.
The Russian defense ministry said that over 20 armored vehicles have also been transported by air to Russia's Hmeymim airbase in Syria to equip the Russian police forces. ■
