Syrian government troops have reportedly entered Tell Tamer, a town in the middle of the Kurdish-controlled part of the country, amid a continuing Turkish offensive against Kurdish militias.

Syrian Arab Army troops entered the town early on Monday, according to SANA. Tell Tamer is a relatively small town, but it’s located on an intersection of several major roads and is of strategic importance. Footage from the scene, filmed by a Ruptly stringer, showed several busses and cars carrying Syrian soldiers waving national flags.

Earlier, the government troops were reported entering Al-Thawrah, a city in the Raqqa governorate located on the Euphrates River, which is famous for its proximity to a major dam.

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The mobilization of Syrian troops comes as Kurdish militias in northeastern Syria face an incursion from neighboring Turkey. Ankara launched a cross-border military operation with the stated goal of creating a “safe zone” along the border. The Turks see Kurdish fighters in Syria as terrorists allied with Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey itself.

The Kurds in Syria previously enjoyed the protection of the US, which used the Kurdish forces as ground troops for their campaign against the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). The protection, however, was de facto withdrawn last week by President Donald Trump, who pulled out US troops that had previously been embedded with the militias.

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