SDF kills 46 Turkish-backed fighters in Manbij clashes amid broader Syrian power shift
Concurrent with HTS and its allied factions initiating a surprise attack on Nov. 27 from their stronghold in northwestern Syria - which eventually led to their control of Damascus - Turkish-backed factions started an offensive against Kurdish forces.
Jan. 3, 2025
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Security sources confirmed to Sky News that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) killed 46 Turkish-backed faction members and captured others during armed confrontations near Manbij in northeastern Syria last night.
Concurrent with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allied factions initiating a surprise attack on Nov. 27 from their stronghold in northwestern Syria - which eventually led to their control of Damascus - Turkish-backed factions started an offensive against Kurdish forces.
These forces seized the Tall Rifat area and Manbij city from them.
The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces remain in control of large areas of northeastern Syria and part of Deir ez-Zor province (east), in particular the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.
These regions fall under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) established by the Kurds at the start of the Syrian conflict after government forces pulled out from much of the area.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey carried out three military operations in northern Syria against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which forms the pillar of the Syrian Democratic Forces, successfully enforcing control over two large border areas within Syrian territory.
In a press interview, the new Syrian administration leader Ahmed al-Sharaa detailed that Kurdish forces should be incorporated into the unified Syrian army.
"Weapons should be exclusively in the hands of the state, and we will welcome anyone who is armed and qualified to join the Ministry of Defense," he declared.
