The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Press Center issued a statement regarding the situation in Kobanê.
Reporting from the field, the SDF said: “Since 2:00 a.m. today (Monday), Damascus-affiliated factions have been launching intense attacks from multiple axes against the towns of Kharab Ashk and Chalabiya, located southeast of the city of Kobane, coinciding with heavy artillery shelling that targeted residential neighborhoods and the surroundings of both towns.
As a result of these attacks, violent clashes erupted between our forces and the attacking factions. Our forces continue, as of this moment, to repel the assault.”
The statement confirmed that “clashes are ongoing, in particular in the town of Chalabiya, amid the aggressor factions’ deployment of additional military reinforcements, including tanks and armored vehicles, alongside intensive overflights by Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles in the airspace of the area.
These attacks constitute a clear and explicit violation of the ceasefire agreement and come on only the second day of its implementation, confirming Damascus’ failure to abide by its commitments and its continued policy of military escalation and destabilization of the region.”
The SDF added: “While reaffirming that our forces are exercising their legitimate right to self-defense, we hold Damascus fully responsible for these violations and for the humanitarian and security repercussions resulting from them. We call on the guarantor parties of the ceasefire agreement to assume their responsibilities and to take urgent action to halt these attacks and put an end to the ongoing escalation by Damascus.”