“We have been in communication with both Turkey and the SDF to de-escalate the situation. Unity of focus on the defeat of ISIS is the goal,” US Army Col. Sean Ryan said on Thursday. He is spokesperson for the international coalition against ISIS.
The Kurdish-led SDF announced on Wednesday a temporary suspension to their offensive against ISIS in the Hajin pocket of Deir ez-Zor province.
They had recently suffered tens of casualties in the war to defeat the jihadists in the group’s last major stronghold. The militants fighting to hold onto their last piece of territory are battle-hardened and determined.
While the SDF was facing this tough battle, Turkey began attacking Kurdish positions in the north of their territory, Rojava. Turkish forces shelled villages in the Kobane area at least three times this week, killing at least one member of the self-defence forces and causing several injuries, including to civilians.
The latest casualty was a 12-year-old girl, shot in the head by a Turkish sniper in the countryside near Kobane, according to reports.
SDF media representative Mustefa Bali shared a photograph of the young girl, identified as Sara Mustafa.
Sara mustafa, 11 years old was shot today by a Turkish sniper on Kobani countryside.
— Mustefa Bali (@mustefa2bali) November 1, 2018
Is Sara considered a terrorrist? That why she was shot pic.twitter.com/GaEZHGfCq5
Local media reported she died on the way to the hospital.
Under attack in the north and battling ISIS in the south, the SDF decided to suspend military operations, accusing Turkey of supporting ISIS.
Turkey considers the Kurdish forces in Syria a branch of the PKK and has threatened a military offensive in the heart of Rojava, east of the Euphrates, similar to its operations west of the Euphrates and in Afrin.
The US, which has forces with the SDF in northern Syria, is walking a fine line between its allies in the war against ISIS and its NATO partner Turkey.
The US and Turkey are coordinating near the Syrian city of Manbij that is situated near the frontier between Kurdish forces and those backed by Turkey.
Joint patrols between the two militaries began on Thursday, according to Turkey’s defense minister and the UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan and US President Donald Trump discussed Manbij and the wider situation in Syria in a phone call on Thursday, Erdogan's office stated.
The two reiterated their commitment to working together and will remain in close contact in the coming days.
The deal between Ankara and Washington on Manbij was to appease Turkey and prevent the Turkish military from launching an operation against the city. Under the deal, all Kurdish forces of the YPG have withdrawn from Manbij.
Turkey, however, claims the YPG are fortifying their positions in the city.
“The terror group is digging ditches in Manbij as they have done in Afrin,” Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told a parliamentary budget commission on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.
“The terror group should know that it will be buried in the trenches it has dug,” he added.
When Turkey and its Syrian proxy militias launched an attack on Afrin, Kurds felt abandoned by their coalition friends who did not stop Ankara.
They are now again appealing for international help to prevent a Turkish assault.
“We call on the international countries and all countries to restrain the occupying state of Turkey within its own borders. For many years, since the start of the Syrian revolution up to today, it has helped Daesh [ISIS]," said Rezan Hamo, taking part in a protest in Qamishli on Thursday.
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