Fighting in Kurdish-held Syrian town despite cease-fire

Associated Press journalists are seeing continued fighting in a Syrian town at the center of the fight between Turkey and Kurdish forces, despite a US-brokered cease-fire.

Shelling and smoke could be seen around Ras al-Ayn on Friday morning, a day after Turkey and the US agreed to a five-day cease-fire in Turkey’s offensive.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reports intermittent clashes in Ras al-Ayn, but relative calm elsewhere since the cease-fire.

The agreement requires the Kurdish fighters to vacate a swath of territory in Syria along the Turkish border, largely solidifying Turkey’s position.

Turkish troops and Turkish-backed Syrian fighters launched their offensive a week ago, two days after US President Donald Trump suddenly announced he was withdrawing American troops from the border area.