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The Syrian army on Wednesday continued its deployment north and north-east of Syria, in areas controlled by Kurdish militias.
The entrance of the Syrian army to Ain al-Arab was delayed for three days by the forces of the international coalition who were finishing dismantling their bases in the region, explains our correspondent in Beirut , Paul Khalifeh . On Wednesday evening, convoys of the Syrian army accompanied by Russian military vehicles entered this symbol city. The Islamic State group suffered in Kobane in 2014 its first defeat against the Kurdish militias, after a battle that lasted five months.
Raqqa in the lens
Syrian regular troops are also continuing their deployment around Tall Tamr, near the border with Turkey, in the northeastern province of Hassake.
They are preparing to enter the city of Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State group's self-proclaimed caliphate, evacuated Wednesday by US soldiers and their Western allies.
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These massive troop movements are taking place as fighting continues fiercely between the Syrian Democratic Forces, the SDFs, dominated by the Kurds, and the Turkish army backed by Syrian auxiliaries.
Kurdish resistance
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the FDS reportedly took over two localities around the town of Ain Issa, 50 kilometers north of Raqqa.
Fierce fighting is also taking place around the border town of Ras al-Ain, where the Turkish army and its Syrian deputies are struggling to keep up with the stubborn resistance of Kurdish fighters.
The city of Tal Abyad is for the moment the only city controlled by the Ankara forces. Kurdish YPG forces announced Wednesday that they have withdrawn from the area. Mustafa comes from this border town. He has been a refugee in Turkey for several years but his parents chose to stay in Tal Abyad until the Turkish offensive began. Mustafa tells us about their flight and worry.
" These armed groups come up, we do not know if they come from Turkey or if they are groups of Arabs from Syria "
" On the first day, the Turks bombed Tal Abyad and the surrounding villages. The civilians immediately left their house. They moved away from 10 km, then from 20. Each time, fear and danger pushed them further. The air strikes continued. So they went 40 km further. They thought they were saved, and all of a sudden, armed groups came up, he says. People are afraid, they sleep outside under the stars and stay away from homes. These armed groups that arise, we do not know if they come from Turkey or if they are groups of Arabs from Syria. Suddenly, they appear in the middle of the inhabitants and start shooting in all directions. It terrorizes civilians who disappear like frightened cattle. They have already experienced that when Daesh arrived. Similar groups have killed and slaughtered people. That's why everyone is afraid it will happen again. When the army takes territory, you can stay at home but when it's a group like that, you do not know what to do, you're lost. "
Not to mention that there are often no more telephone connections. " We must at all costs stop this war," he pleads. I think that all the people, in the world, in Europe, all the Arab organizations, they support all the Kurds. It's good, but concretely nobody acts ! It is no longer possible that the massacres continue as before. "
A minimum common statement at the UN
On the diplomatic front, the Security Council has finally managed to issue a joint statement Wednesday, after a week of failed attempts, but at a minimum . Since last week, the 15 member states have failed to observe a common position, Russian diplomats rejecting any mention of a ceasefire or condemnation of the Turkish offensive.
The South African ambassador, who chairs the Security Council this month, seemed himself almost surprised by the asceticism of the joint declaration that had just been adopted by the 15 member states, reports our correspondent in Paris. New York , Carrie Nooten .
" The Council said that it was" very concerned "by the" risks of dispersal of terrorist groups "recognized by the United Nations, including those of the Islamic State group, and the worsening of the humanitarian crisis. This is what the Council asked me to communicate to you , "said Jerry Matjila.
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Two other separate declarations followed: that of the European countries, which " condemned " the Turkish offensive, and that of the American representative Kelly Kraft, more incisive against Ankara than it had been until now.
If for some diplomats, this first declaration attached, seven days after the beginning of the Turkish bombardments, is a first step, it appears that the members of the Council remain camped in very different approaches.
And the halls of the UN echo what is happening on the international scene: the Russian ambassador spoke in front of the press in length while he observed a radio silence for seven days. He highlighted Moscow's " foresight " on global geopolitics in Syria and posed his country as " mediator ", with Putin expected to receive " soon " Erdogan in Moscow.