Clashes continue in NE Syria despite SDF withdrawal

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- Despite the withdrawal of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from border areas per a Turkish-Russian deal, Turkish-backed groups continued their offensive into northern Syria on Monday. 

Amid the clashes, more Syrian regime troops have been deployed to the area to replace withdrawing SDF fighters.

Rudaw’s reporter on the ground reported back-and-forth shelling from inside the town of Tel Tamr, to the south of border town Sari Kani (Ras al-Ayn), between Kurdish-led SDF and Turkish-backed Syrian forces.

Arisha and Saliyah villages are the current frontlines between the SDF and Syrian troops against Turkish-backed militias. On the east side of Sari Kani, Zirkan, also known as Abu Ra’sayn, has also become a hotspot for conflict.

Hawar News, a media outlet close to the Kurdish authorities in Northern Syria reported that most clashes are taking place in the villages in the Zirkan sub-district of Sari Kani. 

They claimed that a Turkish tank and multiple armored vehicles have been destroyed, a claim Rudaw has not been able to verify independently. 

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Monday that "violations" of the Sochi agreement continued as clashes continued on the frontlines between Tel Tamr and Sari Kani.

SDF officials in the area have told Rudaw that Turkish-backed groups do not honor or respect international laws or agreements, a claim also made by relief organization the Free Burma Rangers.

“What's happening is the Free Syrian Army is [conducting] a ground attack. There never was a ceasefire. Everyday they've been fighting, and the Turkish military [attack] with airstrikes and drones. Two days ago tanks and armored cars attacked people, chasing the civilians out,” David Eubank, head of Free Burma Rangers told Rudaw in Tel Tamr on Monday.

"We have been moving patients and casualties from the frontline everyday. We ourselves were attacked and almost killed,” Eubank added.

On Sunday, the SDF continued withdrawing from the Syrian-Turkish border per a Russian-Turkish agreement. 

“After a few days of dialogue and discussion between our general commander and the Russian government and army, in accordance with the Sochi Agreement and in order to protect the security of the region…our forces, under the guarantor of Russia, are withdrawing from the region as deep as 32 km from the border,” SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali told reporters on Sunday.

The withdrawal, however, has not stopped Turkish attacks. Turkish-backed groups have argued that Tel Tamr is also part of the border strip area Turkey gets for its “safe zone”,  from which the SDF need to withdraw.

Turkey’s “Peace Spring” incursion into Northern Syria began on October 9, with the stated aim of expelling the SDF from border areas and settling as many as 3 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey in the area. 

SDF fighters have told Rudaw that Syrian regime troops stationed nearby remain behind the lines, mostly as artillery support, and expect the SDF to do the fighting.

A French SDF fighter, going by the nom de guerre Sarhat Sticon, spoke to Rudaw about the events just before he went to the frontlines.

“We are to fall back from Salihyah because the gangs and Turkish artillery launched a surprised attack on our positions," the foreign fighter, who sustained minor injuries after he went to the frontlines, told Rudaw.

The foreign fighter accused Syrian regime troops of playing games, by not coming to the immediate aid of the SDF.

Clashes continued in the Abu Rasayn area, as Turkish-backed Syrian proxies are just a mere 10 kilometers from Tel Tamr.

Displacement of civilians in the area continued, reported SOHR, as the Turkish-backed groups took control of the nearby Tel Dhiyab village.

Amid the ongoing fighting, Syrian Army troops "widened" their deployment to 90 kilometers along the length of Sari Kani's eastern countryside from the west all the way to Qamishli to the east, Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Monday.

According to Rudaw sources, six Syrian Army soldiers were injured in the clashes on Sunday. They were given first aid in Tel Tamr’s under-equipped hospital, which is currently treating 17 people injured in the Turkish shelling. 

“Two people have lost their lives, one of them being a woman from Abdsalam town near Sari Kani. She was breastfeeding her child, who was six months old. A shell fell near them, killing her,” Dlo Mohammed Ali, an assistant doctor from Tel Tamr hospital, told Rudaw.

Rudaw could not verify the claims of the assistant doctor, nor if the child had still been alive.

“They [Turkey] shell in a spontaneous manner, not caring where their shells land. Most of the victims are civilians,” Ali added.

In a Sunday statement to media on Sunday, SDF spokesperson Redur Xelil told reporters that the SDF is withdrawing, with Russia now responsible for keeping the ceasefire in place and preventing any violation.