Turkey launched its invasion of Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria on Oct. 9, threatening to bring to life the fears of residents who spoke with Al-Monitor in the days before the operation began.
US troops evacuated two observation posts Oct. 7 in northern Syria, at Gire Spi/Tell Abyad and Sari Kani/Ras al-Ain. The move came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Oct. 5 that his country would carry out an air and ground assault east of the Euphrates.