QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) 鈥 The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Tuesday they have launched a counter-offensive against the Ankara-backed Syrian 春色直播 Army to take back areas near Syria鈥檚 northern border with Turkey.
The SDF is Washington鈥檚 critical ally in Syria, targeting sleeper cells of the extremist Islamic State group scattered across the country's east.
Since the fall of earlier this month, clashes have intensified between the U.S.-backed group and the SNA, which captured the key city of Manbij and the areas surrounding it.
The intense weekslong clashes come at a time when Syria, battered by over a decade of war and economic misery, negotiates its political future following half a century under the Assad dynasty鈥檚 rule.
Ruken Jamal, spokesperson of the Women鈥檚 Protection Unit, or YPJ, under the SDF, told The Associated Press that their fighters are just over seven miles away from the center of Manbij in their ongoing counter-offensive.
She accused Ankara of trying to weaken the group鈥檚 influence in negotiations over Syria鈥檚 political future through the SNA,
鈥淪yria is now in a new phase, and discussions are underway about the future of the country,鈥 Jamal said. 鈥淭urkey is trying, through its attacks, to distract us with battles and exclude us from the negotiations in Damascus.鈥
The Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says since the SNA鈥檚 offensive in northern Syria against the Kurds started earlier this month, dozens from both sides have been killed.
Ankara sees the SDF as an affiliate of its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers鈥 Party, or PKK, which it classifies as a terrorist organization. Turkish-backed armed groups alongside Turkish jets for years have attacked positions where the SDF are largely present across northern Syria, in a bid to create a buffer zone free from the group along the large shared border.
While the SNA was involved in the lightning insurgency 鈥 led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham 鈥 that toppled Assad, it has continued its push against the SDF, seen as Syria鈥檚 second key actor for its political future.
On Monday, the SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami said the group's forces pushed back the Turkish-backed rebels from areas near the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, a key source of hydroelectric power. He said the SDF also destroyed a tank belonging to the rebels southeast of Manbij.
The British-based war monitor said on Tuesday that the Kurdish-led group, following overnight fighting, has reclaimed four villages in the areas near the strategic dam.
Turkish jets also pounded the strategic border town of Kobani in recent days.
During Syria鈥檚 uprising-turned-conflict, the Kurds carved out an enclave of autonomous rule across northeastern Syria, never fully allying entirely with Assad in Damascus nor the rebels trying to overthrow him.
Even with the Assad family out of the picture, it appears that Ankara鈥檚 position won鈥檛 change, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan鈥檚 landmark visit to Syria maintaining a strong position on the Kurdish-led group in his meeting with de facto leader of HTS.
鈥淚t has turned the region into a cauldron of terror with PKK members and far-left groups who have come from Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Europe," Fidan said in a news conference after the meeting. 鈥淭he international community is turning a blind eye to this lawlessness because of the wardenship it provides (against IS).鈥
With the ongoing fighting, SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi due to the power vacuum in Syria and the ongoing fighting, which has left the Kurdish-led group unable to carry out its attacks and raids on the extremist group鈥檚 scattered sleeper cells.
Tens of thousands of children, family members, and supporters of IS militants are still held in large detention centers in northeastern Syria, in areas under SDF control.
鈥
Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
