QAMISHLI, Syria — On Oct. 12, Turkey announced it has seized the area from Ras al-Ain to Tell Abyad as part of Operation Peace Spring. The area extending from Derek on the border with Iraqi Kurdistan to the city of Darbasiyah adjacent to the Turkish-Syrian border was separated from the rest of the area to the east of the Euphrates. The Turkish army and Syrian opposition armed factions had taken over this area. It should be noted that Ras al-Ain — known as Sere Kaniye in Kurdish — is seen as the gateway to other areas in northern Syria and to the east of the Euphrates.

Under the agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian regime on the return of the Syrian regime army to the self-administration areas, Syrian forces entered the town of Tal Tamr, 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Ras al-Ain, on Oct. 14.

Syrian regime forces equipped with tanks and heavy vehicles deployed in the vicinity of the city of Manbij, as well as near the cities of Tabqa and Ain Issa.

The self-administration said in a statement published in mid-October that it is continuing its administrative work and that the agreement is only military and includes the deployment of the Syrian army on the border strip only.