Barely accepted, the truce already broken? The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) reported on Friday (October 18th) that sporadic fighting is taking place in Ras al-Ain, a border town in northern Syria, following the announcement of the suspension of the Turkish offensive. against Kurdish forces

"There is sporadic artillery fire and shooting can be heard in the city of Ras al-Ain," OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP after Turkey agreed to suspend his offensive for five days under certain conditions.

Sporadic fighting is taking place this Friday morning in # Ras_al_Ain, a border town north of #Syria, the day after the announcement of the suspension of the Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces, reported the director of the Syrian Observatory of Rights of Man #OSDH @UN pic.twitter.com/QNtDqFfqo3

Intahe Journal (@IntaheJournal) October 18, 2019

On the Turkish side of the border, an AFP correspondent could hear artillery fire and explosions as volutes of white smoke rose in the sky on the Syrian side.

Quiet in the rest of the border

"There is a cautious calm in other areas of northern Syria near the border," said Abdel Rahman.

Thursday evening in Ankara, US Vice President Mike Pence announced that Turkey would suspend for five days its offensive in neighboring Syria and put an end to it if Kurdish forces withdrew from a border area during this time.

Kurdish forces will have to withdraw from a 32-kilometer-deep sector that is expected to eventually become a "security zone", which Turkey has been calling for for months.

Ankara did not immediately specify the length of this sector. In the past, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the area should eventually stretch the Euphrates River to the 480-kilometer-long Iraqi border.

Thanks to their offensive launched on October 9, Turkish forces and Syrian auxiliaries were able to conquer a border strip of nearly 120 kilometers from the city of Tal Abyad to the west of Ras al-Ain.

In recent days the most violent clashes have been concentrated in the city of Ras al-Ain, where a network of underground tunnels allows Kurdish forces to deliver fierce resistance.

Thursday, Turkish forces and Syrian deputies were able to conquer half of the city, according to the OSDH.

With AFP