Turkish-backed forces push for breakthrough against Kurds in eastern Syria

Impasse continues between mostly Kurdish SDF militia and the new order in Damascus

Syrian National Army forces clash with Kurdish militias near Manbij in Syria. Anadolu via Getty Images

Syrian fighters supported by Turkish planes on Sunday attacked Kurdish forces at strategic points in eastern Syria, in a territorial struggle that could help determine the future of the country.

Since the fall of Bashar Al Assad on December 8, forces allied with Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), the armed group that replaced the regime in Damascus, have made gains into areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, formed by the US in 2014 and comprising mostly Kurdish militias. Washington and other powers have carved areas of control in Syria since civil war started in 2011.

"The Turks are trying to change the situation on the ground ahead of the coming of Trump," an official affiliated with the SDF administration in the area told The National, referring to US president-elect Donald Trump taking charge on January 20.

About 20 Kurds have been killed in the past 48 hours, mostly from Turkish aerial attacks, the official said. No data was available of casualties on the other side.

The current fighting is focused on Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates, near the city of Manbij, the official said. The SDF lost the city last month to the Syrian National Army, a Turkish proxy allied with HTS that is leading the latest offensive.

Despite Turkish air bombing and drone strikes, Kurdish enforcements have been arriving since last week to bolster the SDF presence around the dam, he said.

A statement by a military barracks affiliated with the Syrian National Army said the attack was aimed at "liberating the villages in the hills and villages near the dam".

Large parts of eastern Syria, especially the north-east, are Kurdish-run, including most of the Raqqa and Hasakah provinces, and areas of the Deir Ezzor and Aleppo governorates.

The SDF has been the ground component in the US fight in Syria against ISIS, which still has a presence in the east. But US-backed Kurdish territorial acquisitions have contributed to ethnic violence with Arabs, who comprise the overwhelming majority of the population of the country, including in the east.

The tribal area, especially in the Euphrates valley, is Syria's breadbasket and the source of most of its oil and gas. Oil output was 200,000 barrels a day before 2011 but has fallen by 75 per cent since. The area also contains the bulk of the US military presence in Syria.

In addition to Manbij, the SDF lost at least one oilfield in Deir Ezzor, as well as other parts of the governorate last month.