Fighting between the Syrian army and pro-Turkish factions left at least 23 dead on Sunday (September 3rd) in northeastern Syria, after pro-Ankara fighters tried to infiltrate the area, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The clashes left "eighteen dead among the (pro-Turkish) factions and five among the regime forces" in the province of Hasakeh, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Observatory based in the United Kingdom and which has an extensive network of sources in Syria. They took place in the Tal Tamr region in the north-west of the Kurdish-held province of Hasakeh, according to the SOHR.
Factions of the coalition of rebel groups backed by Ankara, known as the Syrian National Army, had tried to infiltrate the area earlier in the day, the source added.
The Syrian army and local fighters affiliated with the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reacted, resulting in casualties, the Observatory added.
"Safe zone"
The Tal Tamr area is near a border strip under the control of Ankara and its proxy forces.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched several incursions against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, which have allowed Ankara to control areas along the border.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long sought to establish a "safe zone" thirty kilometers deep along the entire length of the border with Syria.
A 2019 Russian-brokered deal allowed Syrian government forces to deploy along parts of the border area in exchange for Turkey halting an offensive it had begun.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring eastern province of Deir Ezzor, deadly clashes this week pitted the Washington-backed SDF against local Arab groups. The violence killed 23 SDF fighters, 39 local fighters and nine civilians, according to a new SOHR report on Sunday.
On August 27, the SDF arrested Ahmad al-Khabil, the head of the Deir Ezzor Military Council, a local armed Arab group affiliated with the SDF, triggering hostilities between the two sides in Kurdish-controlled areas of the province.
The SDF imposed a 48-hour curfew on Saturday, accusing "mercenaries (...) linked to the regime" of wanting to "sow discord" between their forces and the Arab tribes.
"Responding to residents' concerns"
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Ethan Goldrich and Maj. Gen. Joel Vowell, commander of the international coalition fighting the Islamic State jihadist group, met in northeastern Syria with members of the SDF and tribal leaders from Deir Ezzor, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday in a statement.
Participants stressed the need to "address the concerns of residents", guard against "external interference" in the province, avoid civilian casualties and "reduce violence as soon as possible", she added. Ethan Goldrich and Joel Vowell reaffirmed the importance of the partnership between the Americans and the SDF in the fight against ISIS.
The SDF has indeed spearheaded the offensive that defeated IS in Syria in 2019. They control a semi-autonomous Kurdish area in the northeast of the country, including swathes of Deir Ezzor province.
This predominantly Arab province is crossed by the Euphrates River, with the SDF in the east and on the west bank pro-regime forces and groups backed by Iran. The region also has international coalition forces, mainly American.
The semi-autonomous Kurdish zone manages the region through local civilian and military councils, in order to avoid discontent with the local tribes, almost all of them Arabs.
The second day of the curfew was relatively quiet, with only one village where tensions appear to persist among the five affected by the recent tensions, SDF spokesman Farhad Chami told AFP.
The conflict in Syria, which began in 2011, has killed more than half a million people and fragmented the country.
With AFP
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