2025-01-06T20:02:13+00:00
Shafaq News/ On Monday, Turkish forces launched rocket attacks targeting
positions held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Ayn
al-Arab (Kobani) in eastern Aleppo, Syrian state media reported. The strikes
were accompanied by reconnaissance drones flying over the region.
The escalation follows reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights (SOHR) on Sunday, which said over 100 people had been killed in two days
of fierce fighting between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed factions in
northern Syria.
Kurdish sources said the clashes intensified around the Tishrin Dam,
with Turkish-backed factions attempting to advance “under Turkish air cover.”
According to the sources, the Turkish army directly intervened in recent hours.
The latest development followed last week’s escalation between the two
sides.
The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army claimed on Friday to have
captured Saidan village and Syriatel hill near the Tishrin Dam. The group
announced the deployment of “significant reinforcements” to
battlefronts south of Manbij.
A day before, the SDF said in a statement that it had killed dozens of
Turkish-backed fighters and destroyed six military vehicles. The SDF reported
the attacks targeted villages including Al-Atshana, Saidan, and Khirbat Twaina,
among others southeast of Manbij, with the support of five Turkish drones and
armored vehicles.
The week also witnessed heavy shelling by Turkish forces and allied
factions in the villages of Khidr al-Hassan, Sheikh Ali near Tal Tamr, and
Meshirfa near Abu Rasin, according to a correspondent in northern Syria.
Notably, SDF continues to hold large swathes of northeastern Syria,
including parts of Deir al-Zor province and areas east of the Euphrates River.
These regions have been under Kurdish-led self-administration since 2011,
following the withdrawal of Syrian government forces amid the country’s civil
war.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkiye launched three major military operations
in northern Syria against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the
backbone of the SDF, securing two vast border regions.
