Syrian rebels and Kurdish forces, both backed by the US, are fighting each other
Clashes between Syrian rebels and Kurdish-aligned forces, both backed by the United States, have intensified in northern Syria, as the rebels seized villages from the Kurds and Turkish warplanes pounded Kurdish positions, killing dozens.
The fresh fighting suggested that Turkey and its Syrian proxies are increasingly focused on stopping Kurdish forces from gaining more territory in northern Syria, particularly along Turkey’s border, potentially signalling a widening of the conflict.
Sunday’s clashes came a day after a rocket attack on two Turkish tanks killed a Turkish soldier and injured three others. Turkey, which is wrestling with Kurdish insurgents within its border - blamed the attack on Kurdish forces. They were Turkey’s first casualties since dispatching tanks and special forces units, backed by US and Turkish fighter jets, into Syria on Wednesday to oust the Islamic State militant group from the border town of Jarabulus.
The militants fled the town without putting up a fight. Since then, Syrian rebels have been pushing westward, chasing the Islamic State, as well as southward into areas controlled by forces aligned with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. The SDF is largely dominated by the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or the YPG, but also includes some Arabs.
On Sunday, pro-Turkey Syrian rebels of the US-backed Free Syrian Army said they had wrested 10 villages from Kurdish control, while seizing four villages from the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS. A video posted on social media showed Syrian rebels beating captured fighters allied with the Kurds.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said Sunday that Turkish airstrikes killed 25 Kurdish “terrorists” and destroyed five buildings where the fighters were firing at advancing rebels.
