Dozens killed in fierce SDF-SNA clashes near Syria's Manbij
Militants allied with the de facto government in Damascus and supported by Ankara have continued to attack positions of Washington's Kurdish proxy militia in northeast Syria
Heavy fighting between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian National Army (SNA) militants backed by Turkiye left at least 62 killed on 3 January, raising the total death toll since the violence erupted in early December to 241.
“Both sides used heavy and medium weapons, as well as drones operated by SDF. The clashes resulted in the destruction of several military vehicles of pro-Turkey factions,” the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Friday.
The battles took place near the city of Manbij and the Tishreen Dam east of Aleppo. According to the SDF, the fighters fighting alongside the SNA include Chechen, Turkestani, and Uzbek nationals.
The SNA is comprised of former fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Al-Qaeda, and ISIS.
Following the fall of the Syrian government on 7 December and the takeover of Damascus by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Turkiye has ramped up efforts to eliminate the People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.
The YPG, a Kurdish group that serves as the backbone of the SDF, is accused by Ankara of being the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), labeled a terrorist organization by Turkiye and several other countries.
SDF forces remain in control of large chunks of northeastern Syria and part of Deir Ezzor governorate, in particular, the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. The Kurdish militia, created with the support of the US in 2015, has helped Washington retain control of Syria's oil and wheat-rich regions since 2017.
As the situation continues to deteriorate near the Syria-Turkish border, the US army this week deployed heavy reinforcements to the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), with local reports claiming Washington is set to build a new military base in the region.
However, on Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh denied the reports. "I'm not tracking that that is accurate," Singh told journalists.
Despite clashes raging for more than 20 days, Singh recently claimed that a US-brokered SNA-SDF ceasefire east of Aleppo was “holding.”