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Pence had announced on Thursday that the agreement between Turkey and the U.S. stated there would be a 120-hour \"pause\" in operations by Turkey, giving Kurdish forces time to withdraw from a 20-mile-deep \"safe zone\" on the Turkish-Syrian border to be controlled by Turkey.

The vice president initially called this agreement a ceasefire, but Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was a \"pause in Turkey's operation\" and \"not a ceasefire.\"

It was unclear Thursday whether the SDF had agreed to the deal.

Gen. Mazloum Ebdi, the SDF's commanding general, has requested an emergency call with Pence to request American help to collect proof Turkey is violating the pause, a senior official told ABC News.

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Erdogan said Friday that Kurdish fighters had begun pulling out, but he added that Turkish soldiers would remain in the northeast to confirm they were leaving. Should they not leave, Erdogan said, Turkey would restart operations.

When asked Thursday what will happen to the Kurdish forces who lived in cities and towns in what is now supposed to be Turkish-held territory, Pence instead touted the importance of the safe zone in achieving peace.

\"We believe that the Kurdish population in Syria -- with which we have a strong relationship -- will continue to endure,\" he said.

ABC News' Matt McGarry, Conor Finnegan, Rashid Haddou and Martha Raddatz contributed to this report.

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