Syrian Govt Says Turkey Attacked Their Troops in Northeast

Kurdish forces also being attacked in same area

Syrian state media is quoting government officials as saying that Syrian troops came under attack near the town of Tal Tamr. They say they were attacked by Turkish troops and rebel allies, and suffered a number of casualties.

Tal Tamr is in the area around several Kurdish villages in the Hasakeh Province that Turkish-backed forces have also attacked in recent days. Syria made no report of casualty numbers, and Turkey similarly did not offer a statement.

Fighting with the Kurdish SDF, on the other hand, has continued since Thursday, with the SDF reporting at least three of their fighters were killed in battle, and large numbers of civilians were chased out of the area.

Turkey had previously reported five of its soldiers were wounded near Ras al-Ayn. This appears not directly related to this fight. Russia hasn’t directly addressed this incident either, which is likely to be an ongoing issue, as Turkey fighting Syrian troops in or adjacent to the safe zone is likely to be a non-starter for the ceasefire.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.