Kurdish-led SDF accuses Turkey of violating truce with attacks on Ras al-Ain

Kurdish-led SDF accuses Turkey of violating truce with attacks on Ras al-Ain
October 18, 2019, 9:39 am

“Air and artillery attacks continue to target the positions of fighters, civilian settlements and the hospital,” said an SDF spokesperson. (File photo AFP)

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused on Friday Turkish forces of violating the ceasefire in northeastern Syria by targeting civilian and military areas in the town of Ras al-Ain.

Turkish air strikes on Ras al-Ain continued on Friday, reported war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “Five civilians were killed in Turkish air strikes on the village of Bab al-Kheir, east of Ras al-Ain,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the organization's head.

The ceasefire is only hours-old and was agreed to by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after US Vice President Mike Pence visited Ankara.

“Despite the agreement to halt the fighting, air and artillery attacks continue to target the positions of fighters, civilian settlements and the hospital” in the battleground border town of Ras al-Ain, Mustefa Bali said.

The SDF announced it was “ready to abide by the ceasefire,” covering the area from Ras al-Ain to Tal Abyad, SDF chief Mazlum Abdi told a Kurdish TV station on Friday.

Global watchdog gives Iran until Feb. 2020 to tighten anti-money laundering rules British PM scrambles to sell Brexit deal to MPs