Attacks from the Turkish military and Turkish back militants have resulted in "16 martyrs and three wounded in our ranks," in a 24 hour period, according to an official statement released today by the Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) press office.
Turkish forces and their allies continue to launch attacks on Syrian villages despite agreeing to a ceasefire, according to the statement, which says Turkish forces have targeted villages near Ras al-Ain "by aerial bombardments and brought in more troops and preparations for the ceasefire areas."
SDF forces have been targeted "with heavy weapons" in multiple villages, whilst the Turkish forces try to "advance with armored vehicles," according to the statement.
Clashes erupted when the SDF responded to attacks "in the framework of their legitimate right to self-defense," the statement says.
SDF and Turkish Defense Ministry have both released statements accusing each other of violating the 120 ceasefire agreement.
The Turkish Defense Ministry tweeted on Sunday saying, "Despite the agreement with the US, there have been 22 harassment/violations," since the ceasefire began on Thursday.
In a live broadcast on Turkey's Kanal 7 Capital Lobby program, the Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu said, "These terror organizations are committing these violations and harassment despite US instructions for them. We already do not trust a terrorist organization, however we saw once again that US should not trust them either."
Cavusoglu continued, "On one hand, the YPG/PKK terrorist organization is withdrawing, however on the other hand, harassment toward Turkey continues."
Earlier Sunday, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the US-brokered ceasefire in northern Syria "generally seems to be holding" despite "reports of intermittent fires," but he could not say who is committing those violations.