With the four-day ceasefire in the Syrian city of Manbij coming to a close, US mediators’ efforts to convince Turkey to make it a permanent deal have reportedly failed. The expectation is that fighting between the US-backed Kurdish SDF and Turkey and their allies will likely resume soon.
Last week there was major fighting over the city of Manbij. The four-day ceasefire was meant to allow Kurdish fighters and their families to withdraw from the city, as Turkey and their allied factions are looking to reclaim the area.
SDF spokesman Farhad Shami said that the US attempts to extend the deal failed because of Turkey’s “evasion” on key points. Those points were reportedly a desire to withdraw more Kurdish civilians from Manbij and questions about the disposition of the remains of Suleyman Shah.
The SDF and the Kurdish Red Crescent were trying to bring vehicles into Manbij to allow them to evacuate more of the population, but they were prevented from doing so by Turkish-backed militant forces.
The remains of Suleyman Shah are a touchy matter in the region. Shah was the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. He died in the 12th century. His tomb was at Karakozak, on the Syria-Turkey border, but his remains were relocated in 2015 because of the threat of ISIS taking the area. They were taken to just north of the village of Ashme by Turkish forces.
The relocation to Ashme was initially reported to be temporary, and Kurdish forces have offered to help facilitate their return to the Karakozak tomb. Turkish officials have been unclear, however, on whether they still intend to return the remains to Karakozak, or will simply make Ashme the new site of the tomb.
With the Manbij ceasefire now over, Turkey has reportedly been bringing major reinforcements into the area around Kobani, including heavy weapons and armored vehicles. Kobani is right on the Turkish border, but only about 35 miles from Manbij. This would likely be a staging location for new fighting against the SDF over Manbij and the surrounding area.
Turkey isn’t the only one that has designs against the SDF’s control of Syria’s northeast. Syria’s new Defense Minister, Hasan al-Hamada made comments after a Saturday visit to Manbij, declaring the Kurdish YPG (the main organization within the SDF) the “poisoned dagger in the back of the revolution.”
Hamada went on to say that they intend to “liberate” the eastern provinces from the “terrorists.” He added that Syria would only have security once they “eliminate their separatist plots,” something he said was “imminent.”
All this points to a very precarious situation for the US-backed Kurds in Syria, and comes just days after the US had reassured them that they don’t really face any existential threats from Turkey or its allies.
