PHOTO: Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, June 2015
LATEST
- Video: Battle Continues for Sheikh Miskeen, South of Damascus
- Civil Defense Worker Killed by Russian Bombing in Aleppo Province
- Video: Kafranbel — “Syria Expects More Victims. Happy New Year”
SATURDAY FEATURES
Video: From Aleppo — “I Won’t Leave My Country”
Threat of Starvation in Another Town Near Damascus
The prospect of a Kurdish-led battle with Syria’s rebels rose on Friday as the Kurds and a dissident faction took rebel territory in northern Aleppo Province near the Turkish border.
The Kurds and the faction Jaish al-Thuwar occupied the village of Tanab, near the border town of Azaz, yesterday. Some accounts also said they moved into the village of Tat Mrash.
Last month, Jaish al-Thuwar turned on the rebels and seized several villages. At the same time, there were clashes in the area between the Kurdish canton of Afrin, northwest of Aleppo city and opposition-held Azaz.
A ceasefire was reached in early December, but clashes resumed last week.
Some pro-opposition and pro-rebel activists claim that the Kurds will try to occupy territory to link the Afrin canton with their cantons of Kobane and Cezire in the north and northeast.
Rising Tension Across Northern Syria
In northern Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been advancing westward along the Turkish border, pushing back the Islamic State. Last week they captured the Tishreen Dam and moved to the west bank of the Euphrates River for the first time.
Turkey and rebels have warned the SDF not to advance west of the Euphrates, particularly towards the border town of Jarablus.
The tension between Jaish al-Thuwar and rebels dates back to 2014. Most of the fighters were in the Syrian Revolutionary Front, led by one-time favorite Jamal Maarouf, which was accused by other factions of theft and war profiteering. The SRF was eventually defeated and pushed out of Syria at the end of 2014 by the jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra.
Video: Battle Continues for Sheikh Miskeen, South of Damascus
Pro-opposition Orient News reports from near the frontline in Sheikh Miskeen, the strategic town south of Damascus:
Regime forces moved this week into Sheikh Miskeen, located near the highway from Damascus to Daraa on the Jordanian border. Some pro-Assad accounts claimed the capture of the town; however, rebel forces counter-attacked and fighting continues in the center.
See Syria Daily, Dec 30: Regime Advances South of Damascus
Civil Defense Worker Killed by Bombing in Aleppo Province
Civil defense worker Hassan al Haj Omar has been killed by bombing as he tried to rescue victims of an attack in Aleppo Province on Saturday:
Activists also said a woman died in the strikes on Maarat al-Artiq.
Video: Kafranbel — “Syria Expects More Victims. Happy New Year”
The New Year’s message from the protesters in Kafranbel in northwest Syria, who also make a pointed observation about Russian President Vladimir Putin:
