Shafaq News/ On Monday, Turkish forces launched rocket attacks targeting positions held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the countryside of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) in eastern Aleppo, Syrian state media reported. The strikes were accompanied by reconnaissance drones flying over the region.
The escalation follows reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Sunday, which said over 100 people had been killed in two days of fierce fighting between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed factions in northern Syria.
Kurdish sources said the clashes intensified around the Tishrin Dam, with Turkish-backed factions attempting to advance “under Turkish air cover.” According to the sources, the Turkish army directly intervened in recent hours.
The latest development followed last week's escalation between the two sides.
The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army claimed on Friday to have captured Saidan village and Syriatel hill near the Tishrin Dam. The group announced the deployment of "significant reinforcements" to battlefronts south of Manbij.
A day before, the SDF said in a statement that it had killed dozens of Turkish-backed fighters and destroyed six military vehicles. The SDF reported the attacks targeted villages including Al-Atshana, Saidan, and Khirbat Twaina, among others southeast of Manbij, with the support of five Turkish drones and armored vehicles.
The week also witnessed heavy shelling by Turkish forces and allied factions in the villages of Khidr al-Hassan, Sheikh Ali near Tal Tamr, and Meshirfa near Abu Rasin, according to a correspondent in northern Syria.
Notably, SDF continues to hold large swathes of northeastern Syria, including parts of Deir al-Zor province and areas east of the Euphrates River. These regions have been under Kurdish-led self-administration since 2011, following the withdrawal of Syrian government forces amid the country's civil war.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkiye launched three major military operations in northern Syria against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, securing two vast border regions.