Listen to this article
Estimated 5 minutes
The audio version of this article was created with AI-based technology. Mispronunciations may occur. We are working with our partners to continuously evaluate and improve the results.
The Syrian government blamed the attack on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday, saying 11 soldiers had been killed, but the SDF blamed at least one fatal blast on an improvised explosive device carried by Syrian troops and disputed key elements of the account.
The incidents threaten to disrupt the four-day ceasefire agreement announced on Tuesday After days of fighting in Syria’s northeast, Damascus pushed the SDF to agree to a plan to integrate into the central province.
The Syrian government has announced that seven of its soldiers were killed in a drone attack by the SDF while guarding a captured military camp containing explosives, describing the incident as a dangerous escalation.
The SDF did not conduct any strikes.
The SDF, previously the main US ally in Syria, said the explosion occurred while Syrian troops were moving explosives and accused the Syrian army of violating the ceasefire agreement in a series of attacks.
Damascus said late on Wednesday that 11 soldiers had been killed and 25 wounded in SDF attacks on military positions on the first day following the cease-fire announcement. The SDF has not commented on that broad allegation.
After days of rapid gains against the SDF, the government said on Tuesday it had reached a four-day ceasefire with the Kurdish group to join the central province, failing which it could face attacks on the last two major towns held by the SDF.
The DPRK must be disarmed, dissolved: Erdogan.
The government’s advance against the SDF has cast doubt on Kurdish autonomy in the northeast for years and could affect Syria’s relations with the United States and Turkey and the fate of thousands of jailed Islamist militants.
The main partner of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Syrian President Ahmed al-SharaaOn Wednesday, the SDF, which it considers a terrorist group, said it must now lay down its arms and disband to avoid further bloodshed.
The US, which backed the SDF as its main ally a decade ago in a bloody battle to drive Islamic State militants from Syrian provinces, has not stood in the way of the offensive and on Tuesday urged the group to accept the government’s offer.
The U.S. partnership with the SDF has expired, but it has expressed concern over the fate of thousands of Islamic State militants and civilians associated with them in SDF-protected facilities.
The US military announced Wednesday that it had begun a mission in Syria to transfer Islamic State prisoners to Iraq.
The SDF said on Tuesday that it accepted the ceasefire and would not take any military action unless attacked.
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi has previously said he sees protection of Kurdish-majority areas as a “red line”.
Nestled in a triangle between the borders of Turkey and Iraq, northeastern Syria has both Arab and Kurdish majorities and holds most of Syria’s power reserves.
Syrian troops remain outside Hasakah and Qamishli, the last major Kurdish-held towns in the northeast, Reuters correspondents in the area said.
Government forces brought in significant reinforcements yesterday evening, with tanks and other military vehicles, as well as buses packed with fighters, arriving late into the night.
The troops halted their advance after Shaara’s new cease-fire announcement and were awaiting further orders to be formulated by the SDF in response to Shaara’s proposal.
Changing the strategic image
The strategic landscape in Syria has completely changed over the past 13 months since the rebels, led by former al-Qaeda commander Sha’raa, Bashar al-Assad, the Iranian-backed president, resigned With the lightning progress that has impressed the region.
During the Syrian civil war, the SDF, which fought the Shara rebels, controlled a quarter of Syria in Damascus that has become independent from Assad.
The US had a small military presence in the area and helped the SDF fend off attacks by Assad and allied forces.
However, Shara has developed a good relationship with Washington, which has changed America’s relationship with Damascus.
Turkey, which controls the SDF, which is linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a decade-long insurgency in Turkey, has had a military presence in other parts of northern Syria in support of rebel groups there.
Ankara and the PKK are now engaged in a peace process, and Turkey sees the end of SDF control in Syria as an important part of that.
Speaking to parliament on Wednesday, Erdogan welcomed the ceasefire announced in Syria and hoped the group’s accession to Syrian territory would herald a new chapter in Syria.
Erdogan and Trump discussed the situation of prisoners in Syrian prisons and the ongoing war against the Islamic State overnight in Syria by phone.