Fighting Flares in Syria Despite Hours-Old Cease-Fire

A day-old cease-fire deal between the U.S. and Turkey that led to a brief lull in the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria appeared shaky Friday. Fighting flared in the border region with each side blaming the other for the resumption in violence.

On Thursday, the U.S. and Turkey agreed that Ankara would suspend military operations so Kurdish fighters could lay down arms and leave the area. But sporadic clashes, drone strikes and artillery shelling resumed overnight and increased into Friday morning around the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain, according to people living in the area and a commander and a media officer with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.

One strike hit a hospital in Ras al-Ain, according to the Kurdish Red Crescent.

SDF commanders appealed for a pause in fighting. “As part of the agreement the clashes must stop and the strikes must stop,” said the SDF commander Khabour Akaad. “But until now it hasn’t stopped.”

Col. Fateh Hassoun, a commander in the Turkish-backed forces, blamed the Kurds for the clashes. “Some of the SDF mercenaries are still firing mortars in Ras al-Ain and fighting,” he said. “The other areas have small clashes.”