The Syrian National Army (SNA) of the opposition forces have planned an offensive against Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani, media outlets report, in the aftermath of the collapse of the Baathist regime based in Damascus.
Located opposite the Turkish town of Suruç, the town is a stronghold of the terrorist group YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK, which killed thousands over the past few decades in Türkiye. The SNA was quick to recapture Tal Rifaat and Manbij, held by terrorists as anti-regime forces were advancing toward Aleppo and eventually to Damascus last month. Operation Dawn of Freedom by SNA thwarted PKK/YPG plans to capture towns abandoned by forces loyal to the Assad regime.
Tal Rifaat and Manbij are located on the west of the Euphrates River, while Ain al-Arab is located to the east of the river. If captured, they will further reduce the terrorist group’s clout in the region where it still controls towns in Qamishli and Hasakeh. Further south, the group also controls parts of Raqqa, which may be another target for the SNA.
Along with the SNA, several Arab tribes in areas controlled by the PKK/YPG, which seeks to carve out a self-styled Kurdish autonomous region, are interested in driving away the group. The PKK/YPG found freedom of movement when Syria was mired in a civil war and sought to legitimize itself through a so-called autonomous administration. Their self-styled entity benefited from the vast military assistance of the United States, which partnered with the YPG under the guise of fighting Daesh.
Several media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, claimed a Turkish military buildup on the Syrian border, possibly for a new operation against the terrorist group, though those reports are not confirmed by Turkish officials. The Turkish army last launched a 2019 operation entitled Peace Spring against terrorists in northern Syria, liberating several towns. Those towns, now controlled by the Syrian opposition, paved the way for the safe return of refugees in Türkiye.
The capture of Ain al-Arab will further confine PKK/YPG to a small enclave in Syria’s northeast and will largely secure the Turkish border stretching through the province of Şanlıurfa.
Ilham Ahmed, one of the ringleaders of PKK/YPG, wrote a letter to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and sought pressure on Türkiye, the WSJ also reported, claiming Ankara would capture towns they controlled. Türkiye repeatedly denied allegations of capture of Syrian territory and even under Bashar Assad, it underlined respect to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. But Ankara staunchly opposes the PKK/YPG presence close to its borders. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the group should either dissolve itself or would be eliminated in post-Assad Syria.
U.S. understands Türkiye's "legitimate concerns" about the threat posed by the PKK, the State Department said Tuesday. "We understand the very legitimate concerns that Turkey has about the terrorist threat that the PKK poses. We understand the very legitimate concerns that Turkey has about the presence of foreign fighters inside Syria, and so we're talking to them (Türkiye) about those concerns and trying to find a path forward," spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news conference.
He said the U.S. wants to see the "establishment of a Syrian national government that encompasses all of the various ethnic groups inside Syria." "And at the end of that, you don't have any subnational militias, any subnational groups who are carrying arms under their own banner. And as part of that, we certainly think it's appropriate to discuss the expulsion of foreign fighters," he added.
The U.S. repeatedly said it would maintain support for the terrorist PKK's Syrian offshoot YPG-led SDF, its primary Syrian partner in the fight against the Daesh terrorist group, adding that the Biden administration wants to maintain the focus on the anti-Daesh fight.
Meanwhile, Miller also said the cease-fire between the Türkiye-backed opposition and YPG around Manbij has been extended until the end of this week. Washington brokered an initial cease-fire last week, but it had expired, Miller said, adding that Washington would like the cease-fire to be extended for as long as possible. "We continue to engage with the SDF and Turkey about a path forward," Miller said. "We don't want to see any party take advantage of the current unstable situation to advance their own narrow interests at the expense of the broader Syrian national interest," he added.
One day after the “cease-fire” Miller talked about, PKK/YPG members launched a drone attack in Manbij, targeting an area where journalists converged to cover the situation in the liberated town. Journalists escaped uninjured while SNA members downed the small drone.
Russia also has military units to the east of the Euphrates, and they are in the process of withdrawal, Turkish media reported. A Russian military convoy was spotted during its departure from an area near Qamishli.
