Late on October 18, the Turkish military and the so-called National Syrian Army (NSA) resumed their advance east of the town of Ras al-Ayn in northern al-Hasakah, despite the U.S. sponsored ceasefire announced two days ago.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), several units of the NSA backed by at least five battle tanks of the Turkish Armed Forces crossed the border line east of Ras al-Ayn, effectively cutting the 23 highway.
“They [Turkish forces] captured the towns of al-Shakariyah, Haji Hisso and Jan Tamir,” the monitoring group’s report reads.
Kurdish sources confirmed SOHR’s report, claiming that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were able to recapture some positions from Turkish forces and to reopen the 23 highway. These claims are yet to be confirmed.
Click to see full-size map
The repeated Turkish-led attacks near Ras al-Ayn are a major violation of the U.S. sponsored ceasefire. However, the US is not commenting on this.
