Ceasefire on edge as Turkish, Kurdish fighters clash in Syria

Turkey’s Defence Ministry said it was “completely abiding” by a US-brokered ceasefire in northern Syria and accused Kurdish fighters of carrying out 14 “attacks” over the past 36 hours, mostly near the border town of Ras al-Ayn.

Kurdish fighters said Turkish-backed forces besieged the town and were preventing the Kurdish withdrawal and evacuation of wounded.

Syrian state media said Saturday that government forces have clashed with Turkey-backed forces in the region. Damascus deployed troops to northern Syria near Ras al-Ayn to aid Kurdish forces.

In a statement, Syrian forces accused Turkey of failing to abide by the ceasefire agreement and refusing to lift the siege of Ras al-Ayn.

Later Saturday, a medical convoy, which had been blocked since Thursday by Turkish-backed rebels, was allowed into Ras al-Ayn, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said sporadic shelling continued to hit Ras al-Ayn on Saturday.

Via DW