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Syrian surrogates of the Turkish army near Manbij, Syria, October 14, 2019. Zein Al RIFAI / AFP

Syrian troops deployed on Monday in the north of the country entering the key city of Manbij, after an agreement between Kurdish forces and the Syrian army.

with our special envoys, Murielle Paradon and Boris Vichith

In the field, Bashar al-Assad reaffirms his authority by deploying his army to the north of the country and all eyes are now turning to Manbij, strategic city of northern Syria, east of Aleppo.

The Syrian troops entered with the agreement of the Kurds and face the Turks. Hundreds of military vehicles have gathered near the city, according to Agence France Presse on the spot, and pro-Turkish militias are there in the field. We are therefore waiting for a possible confrontation.

A little further east, the Syrian troops took up positions at Ain Issa and Tall Tamr, where large troop movements were observed by the Kurdish Red Crescent on the spot. Troop movements on the road to Ras al-Ain, where there were violent clashes yesterday between the Kurds and the Turks.

The Red Crescent has faced an influx of civilian casualties in the past five days. Forty dead and 165 seriously injured were identified. There are now over 190,000 people displaced by the fighting.

The Turkish military operation aims to establish a "security zone" 32 km deep to separate the Turkish border from the territories controlled by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militia called "terrorist" by Ankara, but supported by the West.

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