In a potentially huge complication for the Turkey-Russia ceasefire, Turkey has gotten into combat with Syrian troops in northern Syria, as fighting around Ras al-Ayn, a town in north Syria, turns deadly.



An exchange of Syrian and Turkish gunfire has left at least 6 Syrian soldiers dead, and 18 others were reportedly captured alive. Turkey reported they are coordinating this matter with Russia.



Capturing Syrian troops in a Syrian town, inside Syria, during an illegal invasion is going to be a difficult situation for Turkey to deal with, and while Russia likely wants to prevent the situation from escalating they’re also an ally of Syria and can’t possibly let Turkey just aggress openly against them like this.



This is the downside, for Turkey, in making a deal with Russia instead of the US. The US would not have cared about Turkey attacking Syria, or even keeping Syrian towns in the “safe zone.” The Russian deal always implied the safe zone would not allow Turkey to seize Syrian-controlled towns and cities.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz