In reaction to the events which included attacks on military checkpoints and bases, flag burning and assaults on Turkish employees, the Ankara authorities closed the four border crossings of Bab Al-Salama, Jarabulus, Al-Rai and Bab Al-Hawa. Residents quoted by the media expressed fears of renewed clashes and retaliatory reactions by the pro-Turkish militias, and spoke of the arrival of Turkish military reinforcements in the border areas.

Last Monday, several people were killed and others were injured in violent clashes between irregular armed groups and Turkish forces deployed in northern Aleppo province without the consent of the Syrian government.

The Syrian border town of Afrin saw the most violent clashes, with at least four people killed in a firefight between armed protesters and Turkish troops.

Elsewhere, skirmishes and armed clashes took place, with civilians throwing stones at Turkish convoys and tearing down the Turkish flag in some offices.

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