There have been concerns in recent weeks that the Turkish government will take advantage of the lull between the U.S. presidential election and the inauguration to move against the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The SDF has been the partner of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). 

The Turks want to take away the Kurds’ access to the strategic M4 highway. According to a spokesman of the YPG (the Kurdish Protection Units which form the bulk of the SDF), Turkish units have been setting up watchtowers, surveillance cameras, and snipers at Saida, a deserted village just north of the M4. The strategic highway is also a demarcation line between the areas controlled by the Turks and Kurds. The SDF is concerned that Turkey is planning another large offensive on their areas.

Turkish proxy forces continue to shell Ayn Issa and other small villages in northern Syria. Yet, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), has reported that positions in Ayn Issa city and the neighboring countryside came under heavy shelling by both Turkish and proxy militia forces.