This tally conflicts with that of the Syrian Observatory that claimsonly 23 Kurdish fighters and and 6 pro-Turkey fighters have been killed so far plus 9 civilians.
Heavy fighting is reported in the area around Tal Abyad as Kurdish-led forces mobilized in an attempt to resist the Turkish invasion. However the Turks have been able to seize several villages.
The next priority, according to Turkey’s Maj. Youssef Hamoud, is to take Tal Abyad and nearby town Ras al-Ayn outright. Both these towns are said to be surrounded at this point. Turkish-backed Arab rebels eager to participate. The rebels are hoping to carve a new rebel area carved out of what had before been ISIS occupied. When the area fell to Kurdish forces in an offensive backed by the US they came to dominate the area in spite of lip service to local control.
For now Turkey seeks only a 30 km stretch along the border
The Turks had been trying to arrange the zone with the US. Although they were not successful Trump did agree to withdraw US troops from the area allowing the Turks to attack without engaging with US forces. The Turks claim they will not allow the US to deny them airspace in the region. Their operations so far have included airstrikes.
The Turks may be tempted to go beyond the 30 km zone and will be encouraged by rebels they support who want to gain more valuable territory adjacent to the held by the Assad government.
Washington establishment angry at Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds
A recent Reuters article reports: “Turkey pounded Kurdish militia in northeast Syria for a second day on Thursday, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee and killing at least dozens of people in a cross-border assault on U.S. allies that has turned the Washington establishment against President Donald Trump.” Trump withdrew US troops from the border area which was in effect giving a green light for the Turkish operation designed to create safe zone between Turkey and areas controlled by the the Kurds.
Quite a number in the US establishment no doubt disagree with Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from the area the Turks are invading. Rath Hoffman a US Dept. of Defense spokesperson said that the US did not endorse a Turkish operation in North Syria:
““In conversations between DOD [and] the Turkish military we’ve consistently stressed coordination [and] cooperation were the best path toward security in the area,” a statement attributed to Hoffman said, adding that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley “reiterated to their respective Turkish counterparts that unilateral action creates risks for Turkey.””
