At least 15 Ankara-backed Syrian fighters were killed Sunday after Kurdish-led forces infiltrated their territory in the country’s north, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who controls swathes of the country’s northeast, “infiltrated positions of the Turkish-backed” fighters in the Aleppo countryside, said the Observatory, which has a network of sources inside Syria.
“The two sides engaged in violent clashes” that killed 15 of the Ankara- backed fighters, the monitor said.
An AFP correspondent in Syria’s north said the clashes had taken place near the city of al-Bab, where authorities said schools would be suspended on Monday due to the violence.
The SDF is a US-backed force that spearheaded the fighting against the Islamic State group in its last Syria strongholds before its territorial defeat in 2019.
It is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), viewed by Ankara as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which claimed the attack on Ankara.
Turkish troops and allied rebel factions control swathes of northern Syria following successive cross-border offensives since 2016, most of them targeting the SDF.
The SDF, supported by the United States, played a key role in defeating the Islamic State group in Syria. However, it is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey views as a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group responsible for attacks within Turkey.
Turkey and its allied Syrian factions control parts of northern Syria after launching multiple cross-border operations since 2016, many of them targeting the SDF. These offensives are part of Ankara’s efforts to counter the YPG and establish influence in the region.
The monitor also added The Turkish-backed “Al-Amshat” Faction in Marae’ City fired heavy artillery shells on Tel Refaat City in areas of Kurdish forces in northern Aleppo countryside, targeting residential neighbourhoods in the city. However, no casualties were reported.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are the armed force of the Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES). They are militarily and financially supported by the US to fight ISIL in northeast Syria. The SDF is a mixed force, with Arab, Kurds and fighters of other minorities within its ranks. In comparison, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which leads the SDF, only features Kurdish fighters from Syria, Iraq, Türkiye and Iran, and is linked to the PKK.
