The Turkish-backed self-proclaimed Syrian National Army (SNA) has been struggling in recent offensives against the US-backed Kurdish SDF. Reportedly, now, substantial reinforcements are being sent to the outskirts of Kobani.
But perhaps more significantly Turkey is threatening new “cross-border” operations against the SDF. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan insisted Tuesday that Turkey would do whatever is necessary against the Kurds, up to and including military operations.
Turkey has been building up its military presence on the Syrian border for weeks, while demanding the Kurds disarm and that the US stop backing the Kurds in general. Concurrently, Turkey has carried out artillery and drone strikes against Kurdish targets.
Turkey’s drone strikes seems to be focused on an attempt to prevent the SDF from sending reinforcements into the area, particularly around the Tishreen Dam. Drones have been attacking vehicles generally, including civilian ones, in this area.
Turkish artillery is also targeting the area around the Qere Qoqaz Bridge. This bridge crosses the Euphrates River and is upstream from the Tishreen Dam. It’s the bridge closest to the dam, and attacks are likely meant to prevent Kurdish reinforcements from crossing it west into the area around the Tishreen Dam and Manbij.
Turkey and the SNA’s military ambitions extend much further east than the Euphrates River, however, with aims to take Kobani and al-Taqba, and eventually to move eastward into the Raqqa Province itself.
The US has been reported over the past week to be setting up a military base in Kobani in support of the Kurds. Though the Pentagon denied any plans to establish such a base, images show a US military convoy heading to Kobani, and multiple concrete walls that have been installed around a key area within the city.
The US has tried to downplay the risk of military conflict in the area, despite reports that several hundred fighters have already been killed with escalation ongoing. The Pentagon has made references to a “ceasefire” between Turkey and the SDF, though Turkey insists such a deal never existed in the first place.
