Life continued as normal in the towns of north-east Syria on Tuesday, with markets bustling and people going about their business despite fears of an imminent invasion by Turkish troops mustered across the border to the north.

Fears of an attack were widespread among Syrian Kurds, but so too was confusion about what might happen in the coming days. What had seemed to be a near certain outbreak of war, after Donald Trump’s statement on Sunday night appeared to clear the way for a Turkish assault on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), had quickly turned into yet another chapter in a drawn out series of threats and defiance between Turkey and the Kurds.

The backlash in the US and Trump’s apparent volte-face appears to have the led the Turks to tread carefully, its powerful air force instead bombing targets across the border in Iraq.

Play Video 1:44 Trump threatens to ‘decimate’ Turkey’s economy if it injures US troops – video

Kurds travelling to Rojava – the name they use for the north-east Syrian province – said the Turkish foreign minister’s statement that any operation would be “temporary” suggested that Ankara had been spooked by the pushback against Trump from the US national security establishment.

“Erdoğan thought he could do what he wanted yesterday,” said one Kurdish vendor travelling to the city of Qamishli from Iraq. “Then he woke up to a different reality. Maybe the Americans are not going to abandon us after all.”

Ghazi Ali, a Syrian Kurdish driver, said roads in the province appeared normal. “People are panicking, but life is going on,” he said. “Everyone is waiting to see what will happen. There’s a lot of talk on social media, but not much is actually happening.”

Another Rojava resident, Noureddine Issa said: “We hear the Turks are going to attack. Life is normal in the market places and streets for now, but we’re waiting and worried.”

Officials in the largest Isis detention centre in the territory reported more unrest than normal, as rumours grew of an imminent incursion by Turkish forces. “Since last week we’ve recorded the highest number of attacks on camp guards,” said one local official. “The camp is really volatile.”

A woman in one of the internment camps said: “When we asked them [the guards] what will happen they start cussing out the Americans and cussing out Trump. And when we ask them about our fate, they say in kind of a joking way: ‘we will just spray you down [with bullets]’. In every joke there’s some truth.”

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The fate of the detention camps remains central to discussions about what might happen if and when Turkey carries through with its threats to invade. The four detention centres in north-east Syria hold close to 90,000 people – among them thousands of ideologues who still pay heed to Isis teachings. “If they get out, there will be chaos,” said the woman. “The guards know I’m not Isis. We have a respect for each other, but it only goes so far. And I’m really scared.”

The threat of new displacement also hangs over civilian communities, many of which would likely flee in the face of Turkish troops. The relative safety of the Iraqi Kurdish border seems a likely destination for many – but the Kurdish region of Iraq has absorbed hundreds of thousands of refugees from earlier in the war. Authorities there say they would struggle to cope with any new influx.

Masoud Barzani, the elder statesman of the region and a former KRG president, took to Twitter to warn against an invasion. “We are very concerned about the recent developments in Western Kurdistan,” he wrote. “We are in contact with several channels and we will do our utmost to ensure that the people of Rojava are not subjected to any more disasters.”