Clashes Intensify between SDF, Türkiye-Backed Factions in Syria

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)
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Clashes Intensify between SDF, Türkiye-Backed Factions in Syria

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters stand guard at Al-Naeem Square, in Raqqa, Syria, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (AP)

Clashes intensified between the pro-Türkiye Free Syrian Army (FSA) and US-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern and northeastern Syria.

Fighting was reported in the Manbij countryside in Aleppo’s eastern countryside. The SDF is attempting to recapture Manbij after losing it to the factions earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Turkish drones struck SDF positions near the Tishrin Dam. The warring partis also traded artillery and rocket fire, leaving six FSA and three SDF members dead, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday.

Eighteen days of fighting have left 152 civilians and combatants dead, said the Observatory.

Amid the clashes, gunmen from the Peace Spring Operation factions in northeastern Syria are seeking to return to their original areas now that the Syrian regime has been toppled. The leaders of the factions are, however, arresting any member who refuses to continue to fight or attempts to leave to the area they came from.

Meanwhile, the US-led anti-ISIS international coalition and the SDF held joint training exercises in the Qasrak base in the Hasakeh countryside.

Fighters were trained in the use of heavy weapons and raising their combat readiness.

The coalition continues to bolster its military capabilities in north and eastern Syria and it regularly brings in military reinforcements to the region.

On Saturday, they brought in 50 trucks loaded with armored vehicles and logistic support material. Arriving through the al-Walid crossing with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, the trucks headed to the coalition bases in northern and eastern Syria.

The US views the People’s Protection Units (YPG) - the largest group of the SDF – as a close ally in the fight against ISIS, stoking tensions with Ankara that views the group as terrorist and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Ankara wants to eliminate the presence of the Kurdish group in northern and eastern Syria.



Damascus, Ankara Agree Natural Gas Deal for Syria

 A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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Damascus, Ankara Agree Natural Gas Deal for Syria

 A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the power plant in Aleppo, Syria, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)

Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir said Friday Damascus and Ankara had reached a deal for Türkiye to supply natural gas to the war-torn country via a pipeline in the north.

"I agreed with my Turkish counterpart Alparslan Bayraktar on supplying Syria with six million cubic meters of natural gas a day through the Kilis-Aleppo pipeline," Bashir said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

Kilis is near Türkiye’s border with Syria, which is north of the city of Aleppo.

The deal will "contribute to increasing the hours of electricity provision and improve the energy situation in Syria", Bashir added.

Syria's authorities, who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, are seeking to rebuild the country's infrastructure and economy after almost 14 years of civil war.

The conflict badly damaged Syria's power infrastructure, leading to cuts that can last for more than 20 hours a day.

Bayraktar told the private CNN-Turk broadcaster late Thursday that "we will provide natural gas to Syria from Kilis within the next three months".

"This gas will be used in electricity generation at the natural gas power plant in Aleppo," he said, confirming an expected daily flow of six million cubic meters.

In March, Qatar said it had begun funding gas supplies to Syria from Jordan, in a move aimed at addressing electricity production shortages and improving infrastructure.

That announcement said the initiative was set to generate up to 400 megawatts of electricity daily in the first phase, with production capacity to gradually increase at the Deir Ali station southeast of Damascus.

Both Türkiye and Qatar have close ties with Syria's transitional government, and were the first two countries to reopen their embassies in Damascus after Assad's ouster.

Both have also urged the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

In January, Syria's electricity chief said two power ships were being sent from Türkiye and Qatar to increase supply after the United States eased sanctions, allowing fuel and electricity donations to Syria for six months.

Last month, Britain said it was lifting energy production sector sanctions, a move Damascus said would "directly contribute to improving" Syrians' living conditions.