Thursday, Jan 9, 2025 {HMC} Manbij — Fierce fighting between Turkey-backed groups, supported by airstrikes, and Kurdish forces has killed 37 people on Thursday in the Manbij region of northern Syria, according to a monitoring group.
The latest reported clashes come despite U.S. efforts on Wednesday to address Turkey’s concerns over Syria, aiming to convince NATO allies not to escalate attacks against Kurdish fighters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, “Intense battles took place in the countryside of Manbij… in the past hours, between Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey-backed forces of the Syrian National Army, with aerial support from Turkey.”
“These attacks have resulted in at least 37 deaths, according to preliminary reports, including fighters from both the Turkish-backed groups and the SDF, as well as five civilian casualties,” the Britain-based monitoring group said, which has various sources within Syria.
The Observatory also stated that at least 322 people have been killed in the ongoing battles in the Manbij countryside since last month.
On Wednesday, Mazloum Abdi, head of the U.S.-backed SDF, said his group supports “unity and territorial integrity of Syria.”
In a statement sent to AFP, he called on the new Syrian government “to intervene to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Syria.”
Abdi’s remarks followed what he described as a “positive” meeting between Kurdish leaders and the Damascus administration at the end of last month.
Turkey-backed forces in northern Syria have resumed their offensive against the SDF, after Islamist groups launched a coup attempt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on November 27, which lasted only 11 days.
Ankara-backed groups have managed to capture Manbij and Tal Rifaat in northern Aleppo, areas previously held by the Kurds, despite U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire in the Manbij region.
The fighting has continued since then, with casualties rising.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Turkey has “legitimate concerns” about the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in Syria, and called for a resolution to the situation, including the withdrawal of “foreign terrorist fighters.”
“That will be a process that takes time. In the meantime, there’s no interest in anything good happening in Syria—it will be a war, and we will do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Blinken told reporters in Paris.
Turkey threatened on Tuesday with a military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria if they do not accept Ankara’s conditions for a “bloodless” change following Assad’s defeat.
Syrian Kurds control most of the oil-rich northeastern region of the country, where they have maintained self-rule for most of the ongoing civil war since 2011.
However, Turkey accuses the main SDF component, the People’s Defense Units (YPG), of being linked to the PKK, which has waged a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state.
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., the European Union, and most of Turkey’s Western allies.
Turkey has carried out several military operations against the SDF since 2016.
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