According to various reports, Kurdish forces have been withdrawing from the 120-kilometre (75 miles) wide and 30-kilometre (20 miles) deep Turkey-proposed “safe zone” in north-eastern Syria. However, the situation on the ground is changing rapidly, international observers say, describing scenarios of further developments in the region.
On 17 October, Turkey and the US struck an agreement on a five-day truce in north-eastern Syria amid Ankara's Operation Peace Spring, launched earlier in the month in a bid to expel the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Daesh* remnants from the region. The People's Protection Units (YPG) – the backbone of the SDF – is viewed by Ankara as an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist organisation in Turkey.
Having found themselves in dire straits, the SDF reached an agreement with the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in mid-October seeking to resist Turkey's advance. In just a few days, the SAA has made considerable progress: Syrian government forces have reportedly deployed to Tabqa, Raqqa, and Kobane, previously controlled by the US-backed SDF. News emerged on Sunday that the SAA had surrounded Turkish troops in the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain.
As for Manbij and Ain al-Arab, their fate is due to be discussed during the upcoming Sochi talks in Russia, as Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu outlined in an interview with Kanal 7 on 20 October.
Meanwhile, the US is withdrawing…
