PHOTO: Watch tower built by Kurdish forces in northwest Syria near Turkish border
LATEST
- Ahrar al-Sham Rebels: Iran Accepted Deal for Zabadani Ceasefire, But Assad Regime Vetoed It
- Video: Amid Battles With Islamic State, Free Syrian Army Fighters Rescue Civilian in No Man’s Land
- At Least 18 Killed by Islamic State Bombs North of Aleppo and in Idlib Province
- Picture: Rebel Kisses His Children Before Going to Fight Islamic State in Northern Aleppo
Amid indications of Turkish-US operations to clear the Islamic State from a “safe zone” in northern Syria, Kurdish forces and rebels have clashed near the area.
Rebels accused the Kurdish YPG militia of firing five shells on Friday on the town of Atmeh, close to the Turkish border. They said two people, including a child, were killed and 12 were wounded as the shells hit residential areas and near hospitals.
The Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra promised a response.
1/3 Rebel factions in Atmeh condemns the recent YPG shelling of the refugee camp which killed & injured civilians. pic.twitter.com/W9YKHVU5Z1
— Ibn Nabih (@IbnNabih1) August 29, 2015
JN preparing a little something for the murtad ypg who attacked Atmeh pic.twitter.com/P0ZaXvB1WA
— أبو سمية الخالدي (@Jabhat_Al_Izz) August 29, 2015
The trouble arose earlier this month when the YPG built a watch tower near Atmeh, violating a local agreement against such fortifications, according to rebels. Accusations followed that the YPG was firing on people from the tower, followed by this week’s claims of shelling.
Turkey’s proposed “safe zone”, a 98-km (61-mile) strip along the border, nominally separates the Kurdish forces from rebels. While rebels hold the area in Aleppo Province west of the Euphrates River, the Kurds are to stay to the east.
However, one of the three Kurdish cantons in Syria, Afrin, is far to the west of the Euphrates. It lies in the northwestern Syrian pocket bordering Turkey, close to towns like Azaz and Atmeh.
Turkey and the US launched their first joint operations against the Islamic State early Friday, with both sides carrying out airstrikes in Aleppo Province and the Turks firing artillery on the militants.
The Islamic State advanced this week on their frontline against the rebels in northern Aleppo Province, taking villages close to the town of Mare’.
The Turks proposed the safe zone, which is 40 km (25 miles) deep in late July. The US has refused to call the area a “safe zone” or “no-fly zone” — as this would point to operations against the Assad regime — but has said that operations will expel the Islamic State from the area.
Rebels also say there is another complication. The Free Syrian Army’s Division 30, which is supported by the US and hosted American-trained fighters, says that Jabhat al-Nusra is refusing to let it operate near Mare’.
US officials say that the American-led coalition will not carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State unless Division 30 is in the area.
Ahrar al-Sham Rebels: Iran Accepted Deal for Zabadani Ceasefire, But Assad Regime Vetoed It
Ahrar al-Sham, the faction representing rebels in talks for a ceasefire in Zabadani in Damascus Province, says Iranian mediators accepted a deal but it was vetoed by the Assad regime.
A 48-hour ceasefire was announced for last Thursday in both rebel-held Zabadani and two isolated regime enclaves in Idlib Province in northwest Syria. The pause would have allowed both sides to evacuate elderly and wounded from the areas.
However, the ceasefire was never implemented. Hezbollah, allied with the Syrian military, resumed attacks in Zabadani, and rebels shelled the enclaves of al-Fu’ah and Kafraya.
See Syria Daily, August 29: Ceasefire in Zabadani and Regime’s Idlib Enclaves Break Down
An Ahrar al-Sham source, speaking to Syria Direct, said the deal collapsed because of 2several points” including rebel insistence that 1500 female detainees be released from regime prisons: “The Iranians approved our request, but the Syrian regime refused it, which led to the emergence of problems between Iranian negotiators and the regime.”
Video: Amid Battles With Islamic State, Free Syrian Army Fighters Rescue Civilian in No Man’s Land
Free Syrian Army fighters in a pick-up truck rescues a civilian caught in no man’s land, amid battles with the Islamic State in northern Aleppo Province:
At Least 18 Killed by Islamic State Bombs North of Aleppo and in Idlib Province
The Local Coordination Committees report that at least 15 people were killed on Saturday by an Islamic State car bomb in Tal Rifaat, north of Aleppo city.
The bomb targeted a checkpoint on the outskirts of the town.
On Sunday, an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a Sharia court, run by the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra, in Salqin in Idlib Province.
Three people were killed and more than 15 wounded, according to the pro-opposition Eldorar al-Shamia. Most of the casualties were civilians.
Picture: Rebel Kisses His Children Before Going to Fight Islamic State in Northern Aleppo
A soldier from the Free Syrian Army’s 13th Division kisses his children good-bye before going to the frontline against the Islamic State in northern Aleppo Province:
