Turkish-backed Syrian Islamist groups attack Kurdish areas

Turkish-backed Syrian Islamist groups strike Kurdish areas, leaving 26 dead — Turkey-backed Syrian radical Islamic mercenary fighters, northern Syria, 2019. Photo: Reuters

MANBIJ, Syrian Kurdistan,— At least 26 fighters were killed Sunday in intense clashes as Turkish-backed Syrian Islamist mercenary forces launched an assault on the northern Manbij area, days after capturing another Kurdish-held enclave, according to reports.

The pro-Turkey Islamist factions had recently seized the Kurdish-controlled Tel Rifaat enclave in northern Syria. This move came shortly after Islamist-led rebels advanced into government-held territories, capturing key cities and approaching the outskirts of Damascus, as reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group.

“Pro-Turkish factions have taken control of significant parts of Manbij city in eastern Aleppo province after fierce fighting with the Manbij Military Council,” the SOHR reported.

Kurdish-led forces liberated Manbij from the Islamic State group in August 2016 following a two-month-long offensive. Afterward, the SDF formed the Manbij Military Council to ensure security and govern the war-torn city.

The Manbij Military Council is part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which serves as the primary military force for the autonomous Kurdish administration governing Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), northeastern Syria.

The SOHR confirmed that the clashes resulted in the deaths of at least 17 fighters from the Manbij Military Council and nine Turkish-backed combatants.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-supported SDF also reported heavy fighting in the area, noting that their forces in Manbij and nearby Al-Bab were “delivering significant blows” to the Turkish-aligned forces.

In a statement on their Telegram channel, Ankara-backed Islamic factions claimed victory in Manbij, announcing they had taken control of the city following “fierce battles.” The groups also released videos purportedly showing their fighters inside the city, though these claims could not be independently verified by AFP.

Earlier on Sunday, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi described the recent developments as “historic,” framing them as part of the ongoing collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s “authoritarian regime.”

The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military arm, the YPG, have played a critical role in the fight against ISIS in Syria, supported by arms and resources from the U.S. The YPG forms the backbone of the SDF, which spearheaded the campaign to expel ISIS from its final territory in Baghouz in 2019. An estimated 12,000 suspected ISIS members remain imprisoned under Kurdish control.

The fight against ISIS came at a significant cost. Over 11,000 Kurdish fighters lost their lives during the five-year campaign to dismantle the so-called ISIS caliphate, which once spanned territory across Syria and Iraq equivalent in size to Great Britain.

Since its establishment in 2018, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has governed the region under a system of democratic confederalism. This framework continues to be a cornerstone of Kurdish self-rule in the area, despite ongoing conflict and regional instability.

Ankara has conducted three incursions into northern Syria since 2016, seizing hundreds of kilometers of Kurdish land and pushing some 30 km deep into the country, in operations targeting mainly the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

In 2016, Turkish troops entered Kurdish northern Syria in an area about 100 km east of Afrin to prevent the Kurdish YPG forces from connecting territories in Kobani and Hasaka in the east with Afrin canton in the west.

In January 2018, Turkish military forces, alongside pro-Ankara Syrian mercenaries, launched an operation to clear the YPG from its northwestern enclave of Afrin. By March 2018, the operation concluded with the capture of Afrin city. Turkish and allied Islamist militia flags were raised in Afrin, and a statue of Kurdish hero Kawa, a symbol of resistance for Kurds globally, was destroyed.

In 2019, Turkey’s incursion into Syrian Kurdistan against the YPG drew widespread international condemnation, prompting countries like Finland and Sweden to impose restrictions on arms sales to Ankara.

Rights groups and displaced Kurdish families have accused Ankara-backed Syrian mercenaries of widespread abuses, including executions, property confiscations, and looting in the border areas under Turkish control.

The United States in July 2021 imposed sanctions on the Ahrar al-Sharqiya group, which was accused of killing Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf during Turkey’s 2019 incursion.

On February 29, 2024, Human Rights Watch released a report holding Turkey accountable for human rights violations in parts of northern Syria under its control. The report highlighted abuses, including sexual violence against Kurdish women detainees and the detention of children as young as six months old alongside their mothers. The findings underscore the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region.

Turkish drone Bayraktar TB2, 2018. Photo: Presidency of the Republic of Turkey/ssb.gov.tr

Turkey has consistently stated that it does not want to see an autonomous Kurdish region established along its southeastern border with Syria.

Turkish Drone Strike Kills 11 Civilians, Including Six Children, in Kurdish area of Northern Syria

A Turkish drone strike on a residential home in a Kurdish region of northern Syria has killed 11 civilians, including six children, according to a war monitoring group.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday that all the victims were members of the same family. The strike occurred near Ain Issa, a town situated in territory controlled by Kurdish forces. The Observatory highlighted the tragic impact on civilians, particularly young children, amid the ongoing conflict.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)