Many Syrian civilians killed in attacks by Turkish-backed forces: War Monitor
SOHR, the UK-based war monitor, says 10 of the victims were killed in artillery attacks by the Syrian National Army (SNA) in the village of Zarfan, near the city of Manbij in northeastern Syria.
The attacks came as the SNA seized control of Manbij from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is supported by the US.
SOHR said the attacks forced residents of Manbij to flee east of the Euphrates River. It added that SNA forces “assaulted properties of civilians and burnt their houses” after taking control of Manbij.
SOHR reported that two children were also killed in artillery attacks by the SNA on the village of Tarmy in the district of Ain al-Arab, in eastern Syria.
Earlier, it reported that another 11 people from the same family, including six children, were killed in a Turkish drone attack in the SDF-controlled village of Al-Mustariha in in Ain Issa countryside in Al Raqqa.
The reports could not be independently verified.
What’s happening in Manbij?
Once a strategic hub for the US-backed Kurdish YPG armed group, Manbij has now fallen under the control of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, or SNA. The city is located some 30km (19 miles) south of the Turkish border and was the YPG’s largest stronghold west of the Euphrates River.
Its fall comes days after the SNA launched what it calls “Operation Dawn of Freedom” to capture territory that the YPG had seized in recent years.
The YPG, which leads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), governs vast areas in northern and eastern Syria, including vital oil fields and areas hosting some 900 US troops. It had seized Manbij in 2016 with US support during the fight against ISIL (ISIS).
While the US and later Russia assured Turkiye that the YPG would withdraw after defeating ISIL fighters, Ankara says this promise was never kept.
Turkiye regards the YPG as the Syrian arm of the PKK, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union. It also views the YPG’s push for autonomy in northern Syria as a threat to its territorial integrity and a potential catalyst for Kurdish separatism within Turkiye’s own borders.
Now, the capture of Manbij is an important step for the Turkish-backed SNA, and the group has already declared the city of Raqqa as their next target. But these advances have prompted concerns in both the US and Israel.
In Washington, DC, top Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has underlined the US’s support for Kurdish forces and warned Turkiye it could face sanctions. Israel has also said that attacks on YPG strongholds must be stopped.
Erdogan tells NATO chief Turkiye wants ‘terrorism-free’ Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has had a phone call with NATO chief Mark Rutte about developments in Syria.
Erdogan claimed during the call that Turkiye “has supported the preservation of Syria’s territorial integrity and stability since the very first day of the civil war”, according to a short statement posted by his office on X.
He emphasised that “Syria should be governed by the Syrian people, and that Turkiye will continue to do its utmost to help build a unified and terrorism-free Syria”.
Then don't give people reasons to resort to 'terrorism'
Turkiye destroys YPG trucks carrying Syrian army weapons: Report
Turkiye’s intelligence agency has destroyed 12 trucks loaded with missiles and heavy weapons, two tanks and ammunition stores being transported by the Kurdish YPG militia in northeast Syria, Reuters news agency reports, citing an unnamed Turkish security source.
The source said that the military equipment had been left behind by the armed forces of Syria’s ousted President Bashar al-Assad when they abandoned the area of Qamishli in northeast Syria.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have been a leader in the coalition of groups that made up the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. The group had been enjoying near-autonomy in northeast Syria, which has been under its control for years.
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