On October 16 evening, units of the Syrian Army entered the key border town of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) in the Syrian province of Aleppo. The town, which is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has been one of the key targets of Turkey’s ongoing Operation Peace Spring.

Kobani, which lies to the east of the Euphrates river, is where Kurds in 2015 halted a bloody six-month Islamic State onslaught.

Syrian forces traveling by bus arrived in the city late Wednesday. Syria’s state-run media confirmed its troops entered the town, blocking one path for the Turkish military to establish a “safe zone” free of Syrian Kurdish fighters along the frontier as part of its week-old offensive.

The Syrian Army asserted full control over another critical city, Manbij, late Tuesday but has since withdrawn from the city, leaving the SDF-aligned Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in control of civilian and political structures.

The Britain-based monitor reported on Wednesday that government troops and Kurdish militants were “fighting together” against Turkish-sponsored militants northeast of Ayn Issa.