Fighting has been raging off and on for weeks, but seems to be picking up intensity this weekend along the Syria-Turkey border, with Turkey and its affiliates fighting against the Kurdish SDF in and around Manbij. At least 31 combatants between the two sides have been killed since Sunday.
Turkey had been building up forces along the border for weeks, and has been talking up an offensive aimed at eliminating the Kurdish YPG, the largest faction within the SDF. Though fighting isn’t a new occurrence in the area, it has plainly gotten more aggressive on both sides since then.
Turkey’s allies in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have been attacking the SDF in several areas, with fighting around Manbij in the Aleppo Province, but also incidents reported in Raqqa Province and artillery strikes by Turkey against silos in the Hasakeh Province, causing substantial damage.
The SDF has carried out its own offensives, especially around Manbij and the nearby Tishreen Dam. The SDF claims that Turkey is setting up two military bases there, inside Syrian territory, and attacked and destroyed radar systems at those bases, along with at least one Turkish tank.
The SDF described this as “Martyr Eziz Ereb Manbij Operation,” saying it was aimed to stop those bases being established and to repel the invasion attempt. In addition to ground operations, the SDF also shelled the town of Abo Qalqak, southeast of Manbij.
Beyond the Turkish attacks on SDF forces in the area, Turkey also carried out multiple drone strikes near the Tishreen Dam, trying to stop SDF offensives.
In the course of strikes between the two factions, the village of al-Aloush was hit. One child was killed in the incident, and one other was wounded. It’s unclear from the reports which side actually hit the civilians.
Turkey has been demanding that the US stop backing the SDF and promises to “do whatever it takes” to eliminate the YPG. It doesn’t seem like that’s happening, however. Indeed, the US and coalition allies are holding training operations for the SDF in Hasakeh concurrent with the increased fighting, increasing the SDF’s combat readiness and training them in the use of heavy artillery.
Ironically, while the Pentagon didn’t detail those training operations, it did claim that a “ceasefire” between Turkey and the SDF was holding in Manbij. The US has repeatedly claimed that there is such a ceasefire, though Turkey has said there never was, and never will be. The intense fighting seemingly underscores that the US ceasefire narrative wasn’t true at all, but US officials continue to offer it.
