On Tuesday, the US State Department announced the extension of the ceasefire between Syria’s Kurdish SDF and Turkey’s allies. The initial ceasefire expired, but the new one was supposed to continue to the end of the week.
It doesn’t seem to have lasted even a whole day, however, with Turkey and their allies carrying out multiple attacks against Kurdish forces in and around the northern city of Kobani and the town of Manbij. Heavy fighting has been reported around Manbij, with at least 21 pro-Turkish fighters reported killed, and an unspecified number of SDF members and affiliates with the Manbij Military Council also killed in the clashes.
Turkey was said to have provided air support for the Manbij attack, and artillery fire was also reported across the Aleppo Province. With Turkey also reported amassing troops along the Aleppo border in recent days, a broader military operation is seen as very likely.
Turkey’s direct involvement in violating the ceasefire has been substantial today. In addition to backing and participating in the Manbij fighting with air support, Turkish drones reportedly attacked Kobani FM, a Kurdish radio station in Kobani. The radio station was damaged, but there were no casualties in that strike.
Turkey and their allies, collectively known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), hold territory in Syria’s northeast, but have gained considerable influence having backed the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the takeover of most of the country. HTS officials are already suggesting that stamping out Kurdish separatists is a near-term goal, and that Turkish involvement in Syria’s reconstruction is a priority.
US officials have been trying to reassure the Kurds that they don’t face any immediate threats to existence from Turkey’s allies, despite Turkish officials saying the “elimination” of the SDF’s largest faction, the YPG, is their strategic goal.
Today’s fighting, coming a day after the ceasefire “extension,” suggests Turkey’s goals haven’t changed in northern Syria, and those goals are very bad for the US-backed SDF. With so many Turkish forces and heavy weapons deployed at the border, it seems this may just be the tip of the iceberg.
