Kurdish-led forces repel Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in a tense onslaught

The Syrian Democratic Forces, which Kurds lead, said on Tuesday that they have started a counteroffensive against the Syrian National Army, which is backed by Turkey, to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkey.

The SDF is one of Washington’s most important allies in Syria. They are targeting extremist Daesh forces dispersed throughout the country’s east.

The fights between the US-backed group and the SNA have gotten worse since the fall of Bashar Assad’s authoritarian rule earlier this month. The SNA took over the important city of Manbij and the areas around it.

The fierce fighting that has been going on for weeks comes at a time when Syria is trying to figure out its political future after 50 years of Assad family rule. The country has been through a decade of war and economic hardship.

As part of the SDF’s counteroffensive, Ruken Jamal, a spokesman for the Women’s Protection Unit (YPJ), told The Associated Press that their troops were just over seven miles from the centre of Manbij.

Through the SNA, she said, Ankara was trying to weaken the group’s position in talks about Syria’s political future. “Syria is now in a new phase, and talks are underway about the future of the country,” Jamal said. “Turkey is attacking us to keep us busy with battles and keep us from participating in the talks in Damascus.”

The opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain, says that dozens of people on both sides have been killed since the SNA’s attack against the Kurds in northern Syria began earlier this month.

Turkey believes the SDF is associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), its primary adversary and a terrorist organisation. For years, armed groups backed by Turkey and Turkish jets have struck places in northern Syria where the SDF are mostly present in order to make a buffer zone free of the group along the long shared border.

The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham led a swift uprising that included the SNA and ousted Assad. However, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham has continued its attacks on the SDF, regarded as Syria’s second most significant political actor for the future.

On Monday, Farhad Shami, a spokesman for the SDF, said that the group’s forces pushed back the rebels backed by Turkey from areas near the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, which is a major source of hydropower. He also said that in the southeast of Manbij, the SDF destroyed a rebel tank.

A war monitor in Britain said on Tuesday that the Kurdish-led group had taken back four towns near the strategic dam after fighting overnight.

Recently, Turkish jets have also bombed Kobani, a key border town.
During Syria’s uprising that turned into a war, the Kurds created an area of self-government in the northeast. They never fully sided with either Assad in Damascus or the rebels who were trying to oust him.

Even though the Assad family is no longer involved, Ankara’s position doesn’t seem to have changed. During his historic trip to Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with HTS de facto head Ahmad Al-Sharaa and kept a strong stance on the Kurdish-led group.

Fidan stated at a news conference following the meeting that the presence of PKK members and far-left groups from Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Europe has transformed the area into a hotbed of terror. “The international community is ignoring this lack of law because it is fighting Daesh.”

Due to the lack of power in Syria and the ongoing fighting, SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi is worried about a strong return of Daesh. This is due to the Kurdish-led group’s inability to effectively execute its attacks and raids against the extremist group’s dispersed sleeper cells.

A lot of kids, family members, and people who back Daesh militants are still being held in big jails in northeastern Syria, in areas controlled by the SDF.