Despite the agreed ceasefire for northern Syria, the Turkish Air Force has flown again according to activists air strikes. The attack on the Syrian village Bab al-Cheir east of the border town of Ras al-Ain had killed at least five civilians on Friday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In Ras al-Ain, according to the organization, there were already battles between the Turkish army and the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG). A representative of the Kurds accused Turkey of continuing violations of the ceasefire. The air strikes and artillery bombardment by Turkey is a "violation" of the ceasefire, said Mustafa Bali, the spokesman for the YPG militia-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Kurdish-Arab Alliance had agreed Friday night to comply with the five-day ceasefire that had previously been negotiated between Turkey and the US in Ankara.
Great news out of Turkey. News Conference shortly with @VP and @SecPompeo. Thank you to @RTErdogan. Millions of lives wants to be saved!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2019The government of US President Donald Trump had announced a ceasefire for northern Syria only Thursday night. Vice President Mike Pence said after a meeting with the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. It was "great news" from Turkey, Trump tweeted. "Millions of lives are saved." (Read more about this here.)
The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Maslum Abdi, had announced his intention to accept the ceasefire. "We will do everything we can to make the ceasefire a success," said Abdi. The agreement applies to the area between Ras al-Ain and Tall Abjad and also includes the return of displaced persons to their homes and excludes demographic changes in the area, said Abdi in a telephone interview.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the other hand, said that he did not want the agreement to be understood as a "ceasefire". The offensive will not be stopped, but "interrupted". In addition, only two legitimate sides could agree on a ceasefire. However, Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist organization.