Up to 300,000 people are said to have fled the violence in northern Syria - REUTERS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Turkey will “crush the heads” of Kurdish fighters if they do not withdraw from a planned safe zone area in northern Syria.

Turkey agreed on Thursday to suspend an offensive for five days to allow the Kurds to retreat from the area.

But on Saturday both sides accused the other of violating the ceasefire.

Ankara views the Kurdish forces as terrorists and wants to create a “safe zone” buffer inside Syria.

Despite the temporary ceasefire, some sporadic violence has continued – particularly around the border town of Ras Al-Ain.

Speaking at a televised event in the central Turkish province of Kayseri on Saturday, President Erdogan said that if Kurdish fighters did not withdraw by Tuesday evening – as agreed in the ceasefire – “we will start where we left off and continue to crush the terrorists’ heads”.

The Turkish leader is due to hold talks next week with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. On Saturday he said that if those talks did not produce a solution, Turkey would “implement its own plans”.