The announcement earlier this week that the Kurdish SDF has agreed to integrate into the Syrian Army does not appear to be impacting the ongoing fighting in Aleppo Governate, where Turkey and the Turkish-backed SNA continue to try to push into Kurdish-held territory, and both sides are trading fire across the region.
Turkish airstrikes were reported in several areas, with the highest intensity around the city of Kobani. Those strikes hit areas on the outskirts of Kobani, including Qasaq village and the Sarin Airport. Strikes were also reported near the Qarqozaq Bridge, which SNA fighters have been trying to take.
The SDF, for their part, carried out missile strikes against Turkey’s al-Hushariyah base on the outskirts of the city of Jarablus. No casualties have been reported in this incident.
The SDF also reported that they have shot down two Turkish drones near the Tishreen Dam. They reported that the drones were supporting the targeting of villages near the Dam, and noted that those villages came under heavy shelling from Turkish and SNA forces the day before.
The SNA has been trying to take Tishreen Dam and the Qereqozaq Bridge for months, so far with limited success. Tishreen Dam is the most important source of fresh water and electricity generation in northeastern Syria. Turkey is believed to want to use control over the Dam to force concessions out of the Kurds that live in the area.
The interest in Qereqozaq Bridge is more strictly related to logistics, as it is the northernmost bridge across the Euphrates River that is under Kurdish control. The loss of the bridge would force SDF forces to make a much longer route from the Kobani area into the western part of the Aleppo Governorate.
Kurdish officials noted that the talks on integration with the Syrian Army are still in relatively early stages, and while the SDF agreed to expel foreign fighters from their forces to promote national unity, important details like the fate of massive oil and gas fields, presently under Kurdish control, have yet to be discussed.
