Fresh clashes erupt between Turkish-backed forces, SDF in Syria
SOHR also reported on Monday that Turkish forces and their allied armed groups targeted the village of al-Terwaziyah, south of Slouk in rural Raqqa, using heavy artillery and machine guns, which then led to violent confrontations.
Dec. 30, 2024
Erbil (Kurdistan24) – On Monday, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported that Turkish-backed forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have renewed their exchange of fire in Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported on Monday that Turkish forces and their allied armed groups targeted the village of al-Terwaziyah, south of Slouk in rural Raqqa, using heavy artillery and machine guns, which then led to violent confrontations.
The SDF responded with similar shelling on the sources of fire, with no reported casualties.
According to a press statement from the London-based Observatory, SDF special forces penetrated Turkish-backed faction positions in al-Reyhaniyah village near Tel Tamer in rural Hasakah yesterday, resulting in five deaths and seven injuries among the factions.
The Turkish-backed Syria’s National Army (SNA) is currently pushing into SDF-controlled areas in northern Syria.
Turkey faces allegations of trying to take advantage of the power vacuum in Syria to subdue Kurdish-controlled regions in the country's north.
The SDF announced Monday the "carrying out of specialized operations that destroyed two radar devices, a jamming system, and an armored vehicle belonging to the Turkish occupation west of the Qarqozaq bridge."
Simultaneous with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allied groups launching a surprise attack on Nov. 27 from their stronghold in Idlib, eventually obtaining control of governance in Damascus, Turkish-backed factions attacked Kurdish forces.
These forces seized the Tel Rifaat area and the city of Manbij from them.
SDF still controls large areas of northeastern Syria and part of Deir ez-Zor province (east), particularly the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.
These areas are under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) established by the Kurds at the start of the Syrian conflict after government forces withdrew from much of it.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey carried out three military operations in northern Syria against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which forms the backbone of the SDF.
Eventually, Turkey succeeded to impose its control over two large border areas within Syrian territory.
In a Sunday interview with Saudi Arabia's al-Arabiya channel, the new Syrian administration leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa detailed that Kurdish forces should be merged into the unified Syrian army.
He declared, "Weapons should be exclusively in state hands, and we will welcome anyone who is armed and qualified to join the Ministry of Defense."
