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The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported \u201cfierce battles in the Manbij countryside… in the past hours between the (Kurdish) Syrian Democratic Forces and the (Turkish-backed) National Army factions… with Turkish air cover.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attacks killed 37 people in a preliminary toll,\u201d mostly Turkish-backed combatants, but also six SDF militants and five civilians, said the British-based Observatory, according to Press TV.<\/p>\n
At least 322 people have been killed in fighting in the troubled region since armed militants, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took control of Damascus following the President Assad\u2019s rule \u00a0on December 8.<\/p>\n
The pro-Ankara groups succeeded in capturing Kurdish-held Manbij and Tal Rifaat in northern Aleppo province in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
The latest reported fighting comes despite the United States assuring that it was working to address Turkey\u2019s concerns in Syria to dissuade the NATO ally from escalating an offensive against Kurdish fighters.<\/p>\n
Washington\u2019s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Turkey had \u201clegitimate concerns\u201d about Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK) militants inside Syria and called for a resolution in the country that includes the departure of \u201cforeign terrorist fighters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in a recent interview threatened to launch an offensive against the the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, which it accuses of being aligned with the PKK.<\/p>\n
Top Turkish diplomat stressed \u00a0that the ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) administration in Syria must address the issue of the YPG\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n
Fidan further noted that the United States supported the YPG for various reasons when it was present in Syria.<\/p>\n
However, he said, many of these reasons no longer exist, adding, “The ultimatum we gave them (the YPG) through the Americans is obvious.”<\/p>\n
Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed PKK, which has been fighting for an autonomous region inside Turkey since 1984.<\/p>\n
Syria\u2019s Kurds control much of the oil-rich northeast of the country, where they enjoyed de facto autonomy.<\/p>\n
For years, the US policy has relied on collaborating with Kurdish militants in northern Syria with a goal of maintaining some leverage over the future of the conflict.<\/p>\n
US president-elect Donald Trump earlier admitted on more than one occasion that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil.<\/p>\n
Since the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad government, clashes between different armed groups have intensified, plunging the country into turmoil.<\/p>\n
MNA<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n