MESOP REPORT : Turkish-Supported Rebels Begin Offensive v. Kurdish Militia
UPDATE 1545 GMT: The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) has declared that the Turkish State is waging a war on Kurds, appealing to “all democratic powers to escalate resistance against the Turkish occupation”.The KCK claimed that the AKP, the ruling Turkish party, has supported the Islamic State in the killing of thousands of people: “Turkey is majorly responsible for the ongoing annihilation war running in Syria because of its policies in Syria and the Middle East, aiming to undermine Rojava [Kurdistan] revolution.”
UPDATE 1530 GMT: The Turkish military says it has hit 70 Kurdish militia and 52 Islamic State targets in the past 24 hours.
The military said five Free Syrian Army fighters were wounded during attack to retake two villages northwest of al-Bab, the key ISIS-held town northeast of Aleppo. It did not say whether the villages are controlled by the Kurdish militia YPG or the Islamic State. It added that the YPG attacked the FSA south of Jarablus, killing two people.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Turkish-supported rebels launched an offensive against Kurdish militia on Friday, further complicating a four-way war in northwest Syria.
The rebel units — including the Free Syrian Army and backed by Turkish artillery — launched the assaults against the Kurdish YPG on a 12-km (7.5-mile) front near the villages of Bir as-Sabah and Umm Housh.The rebel assault began on Thursday with the capture of a few villages that were briefly taken by a YPG-allied Arab faction, Jaish al-Thuwar, from the Islamic State. Friday’s advance was southeast of the town of Tel Rifaat, captured by the YPG in February from the rebels. Earlier this week, FSA fighters promised to retake the town, giving the YPG 48 hours to withdraw.
Map by Yalla Souriya
Turkey carried out its first airstrikes, alongside shelling, of YPG positions on Wednesday. The Turkish military claimed that 160 to 200 Kurdish fighters were killed.On Friday, at least 90 Turkish rockets supported the offensive.
Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its YPG militia — which leads the US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria — as part of the Turkish Kurdish insurgency PKK, which has fought Turkish forces for more than 30 years.The PYD accused the US, despite its backing of the SDF, of joining the Turkish-rebel attacks: “Informed sources confirmed that the Turkey-backed attacks on SDF positions today were supported by American officers.”
Rebels Try to Reverse Battle in Northwest
The YPG and rebels have clashed since last year, notably in the Sheikh Maqsoud area of Aleppo city.However, at the start of 2016 the YPG stepped up the battle with the capture of rebel territory in northern Aleppo Province, including Tel Rifaat. The Kurdish militia briefly threatened the important town of Azaz, on the Turkish-Syrian border, before Turkey stepped in with shelling.The Syrian opposition also accuses the YPG of aiding Russia and the Assad regime in the siege of opposition areas of Aleppo city, helping cut off the Castello road to the north in late July.
A few weeks later, Turkey intervened for the first time with airstrikes, tanks, and special forces alongside the rebels in northern Syria. The offensive quickly gained ground against the Islamic State, raising the prospect of an eventual battle for territory with the YPG as well as the Assad regime.Both Turkey and rebels have signaled their intention to capture al-Bab, an ISIS-held town northeast of Aleppo which is within 20 km (12.5 miles) of Kurdish frontlines and 10 km (6 miles) of regime positions.
