Syrian Kurdish Group Attacks Pro-Turkish Fighters In Northern Syria, Kills 14

A Syrian Kurdish armed group, known as the Afrin Liberation Forces, has launched an attack on an area controlled by pro-Turkish fighters in rebel-held northern Syria on Monday, resulting in the death of at least 14 individuals, as reported by a war monitoring group and a factional leader. The attack unfolded on the outskirts of Al-Bab in Aleppo province, taking advantage of factional conflicts that erupted after midnight, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. With artillery support, the Kurdish group infiltrated the area, resulting in the deaths of "at least 14" pro-Turkish fighters, while others sustained injuries, revealed Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman. The underlying cause of the conflict in the region had been a struggle for "control and influence" among the rival groups, which eventually led to the ambush, Abdel Rahman further explained. Confirming the death toll, a factional leader in the rebel-held area informed AFP that the deceased fighters were part of a formation that had defected from pro-Turkish groups. The Afrin Liberation Forces primarily consist of Kurdish fighters who were displaced from the Afrin region in northwest Syria during a Turkish offensive several years ago. They are now predominantly active in northern Aleppo province. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives in Syria, often targeting Kurdish militants associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group engaged in a long-running insurgency against the Turkish state. Turkish forces, in collaboration with Syrian proxies, hold significant sections of the border, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has persistently pursued the establishment of a "safe zone" extending 30 kilometers (20 miles) deep along the entire border. The Syrian conflict began in 2011 following the government's suppression of peaceful protests, eventually escalating into a deadly war that attracted jihadist groups and involvement from various foreign powers. This protracted conflict has resulted in the deaths of over 500,000 people, the displacement of millions, and severe damage to Syria's infrastructure and industries. In 2019, a Russian-brokered agreement resulted in Syrian government forces being deployed along certain parts of the northern border area in exchange for Turkey halting an earlier offensive.