Northern Aleppo Province: Opposition territory (green); regime territory (red); Kurdish territory (yellow); Islamic State territory (black)

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No Breakthrough as Syria’s Geneva Talks End, But UN Envoy Hopeful

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UPDATE 1830 GMT: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting Turkish-rebel forces west of Manbij, on the frontline in Aleppo Province.

A pro-opposition activist says the SDF had retaken all territory lost this week and seized the village of Jubb al-Amir (see map) on Saturday. However, he later updated that the Turkish-rebel forces regained the village, with fighting now on the outskirts of nearby Tel Turin.

Graphic video, including bodies of slain fighters:

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The autonomous Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria is celebrating its first land link with the Assad regime, while worrying about the Turkish presence alongside rebels.

Commenting on this week’s connection as pro-Assad forces advanced against the Islamic State in the four-sided war in Aleppo Province, Abdul Karim Saroukhan, head of the Kurdish-led administration, said the link was an economic breakthrough.

With the route, northeast of Aleppo city — reoccupied by pro-Assad forces in December — and south and east of al-Bab, the regime can move manufactured goods to a Kurdish area with agriculture and 70% of Syria’s oil.

“The opening of a corridor between us and Aleppo will have a great positive impact,” said Saroukhan. “It is like an artery that will feed part of the Syrian body.”

But Saroukhan also worried about the concurrent Turkish-rebel advance in Aleppo Province, capturing the city of al-Bab and putting them on a frontline with both the pro-Assad forces and with the Kurdish-led, US-supported Syrian Democratic Forces.

The Turkish-rebel offensive has already clashed with pro-Assad units, notably in the town of Tadaf to the south of al-Bab, and has reportedly shelled SDF-held territory to the east of al-Bab and west of the city of Manbij.

A showdown over Manbij appears imminent, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promises the capture of the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Friday that the SDF had handed villages west of Manbij to the Assad regime, after the Manbij Military Council, a local SDF component, said it reached a deal with the Syrian regime to create a buffer zone against the Turkish-rebel forces.

However, a Pentagon spokesman said the US military is not aware of any agreement.

Amid the tension, Russian warplanes have already accidentally hit the SDF, only 5 to 6 km (3 to 4 miles) from American special forces.

Saroukhan declared, “If Turkey continues in this way, in this vein, it will be the start of a new war in Syria, in the north.”

And he promised that the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the Kurdish militia YPG, “will not allow the entry of any other forces to this city”.

Reports are circulating of both US and Russian assistance to the SDF near Manbij. The Pentagon effectively accepted the Russian deployment, with Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis saying:

We have noticed and observed and are aware of the fact that these humanitarian convoys sponsored by the regime and Russia have been moving into Manbij, and that they have some armoured equipment with them.

Another defence official said the material appeared to be for “force protection.”

Images of American armored vehicles and US personnel:

US ARMOR MANBIJ

US PERSONNEL MANBIJ

US Deletes Tweet of Its Support to Pro-Assad Capture of Palmyra

The US military has deleted a tweet indicating its aerial support of pro-Assad forces and Russian warplanes as they recaptured Palmyra in central Syria from the Islamic State.

In the eight days before Palmyra was reoccupied this week, US jets carried out 23 attacks over eight days on ISIS positions.

See Syria Daily, March 3: With Russia & US Help, Regime Takes Palmyra from ISIS

Regime MiG-21 Jet Crashes in Idlib Province

A regime MiG-21 jet fighter has crashed in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.

Although some pro-rebel activists claimed that the warplane was shot down, the likely cause of the crash was technical failure.

The jet crashed in Hatay Province in southeastern Turkey. The provincial governor said that the wreckage has been reached, but no body was found.

Reports: Russian General Critically Injured

Russian Major General Petr Milyukhin has been critically injured by an Islamic State land mine in central Syria, according to Russian outlets.

Milyukhin, the head of the Directorate of Combat Training of the Western Military District’s Staff, was struck last week during the offensive by pro-Assad forces to recapture the historic city of Palmyra from ISIS. He lost both legs and an eye and was transported by a special flight to a Moscow hospital, where he is in intensive care.

He is the first general injured since Russia’s military intervention in September 2015.

Video: How Can Opposition Areas Maintain Internet Links?

Activists explain to Qasioun News how the Internet can be maintained in opposition areas, despite attacks and sieges by the Assad regime and its allies.