Claim: Turkish Forces Immediately Violated Ceasefire Agreement

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported on Friday morning that Turkish forces violated the five-day ceasefire agreement announced on Thursday afternoon almost immediately, as Turkish-allied ground forces continued to attack the town of Ras al-Ain with Turkish air and artillery support.

“Despite the agreement to halt the fighting, air and artillery attacks continue to target the positions of fighters, civilian settlements, and the hospital in Serekaniye/Ras al-Ain,” said SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali, using both the Kurdish and Arabic names of the town. . .

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights counted 7 civilians killed plus at least 21 injured by Turkish airstrikes and warned 38 injured people are trapped in an area under siege by Turkish proxies.

Organizers of a civilian relief convoy attempting to reach Ras al-Ain told Kurdistan24 News the attacking forces have cut off access to the town. They reported 30 injuries in the area from artillery fired by either the Turks or their allies from the Free Syrian Army.

Reuters journalists positioned near the Turkey-Syria border said they could hear machine-gun fire and artillery explosions from the vicinity of Ras al-Ain and saw plumes of smoke near the town, although they added the “sounds of fighting had subsided by mid-morning.” (Read more from “Claim: Turkish Forces Immediately Violated Ceasefire Agreement” HERE)

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