Turkish proxy forces are being hit hard by the SDF on all fronts, but the Turkish military is refusing to be distracted, and remaining focused on their true enemy: grain silos and water pumping stations.
Huge flex by the main SDF spox here, dismissing claims that Turkish-backed forces have taken strategically vital Tishreen Dam by filming himself standing on it
"Today is a day of dignity, a day of honour. Because this is not war against a dam, or against a village, this is a war against everything"
Local journalists in North East Syria are so likely to be targeted by Turkey that their agencies get them to contribute to their own obituaries, while at the same time Western press are in Damascus asking the big questions like if Jolani will allow alcohol and christmas trees.
Not content with being one of the biggest jailers of journalists worldwide, Turkey seeks to control the narrative in Syria by murdering those they can’t arrest. Cîhan & Nazim made invaluable contributions from a region being mostly ignored by the international media.
Devastated to learn Turkey just killed 2 much-loved Kurdish journalists in Syria in a targeted drone strike. Nazim (left) was the first local journo I met when I joined the RIC. Both were fearless in their reporting from Syria in the face of constant threats to their lives.
I spoke to @jamesstout.bsky.social on the It Could Happen Here podcast about the current situation in Syria, and what it means for the future of Rojava:
www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...
A local friend tells me that the SNA member talking sounds like he has a Turkmen accent from around Aleppo, but it's not clear.
The wounded men are likely Arabs and 'self defence' could refer to HXP, the conscript/national service force of AANES.
Very rough translation:
SNA: Who are you? Army? How long are you fighting?
W1: Well what can we do, we had to.
SNA: And you? (to W2). You're army or PKK?
W2: Self defence, border guard
SNA: When were you shot?
W2: Yesterday
Then they execute both
Turkey's SNA forces in Syria are sharing a video of them questioning and then executing wounded soldiers as they lay in their hospital beds.
Not posting the video, but this is precisely the kind of thing we expected from Turkish forces based on previously documented warcrimes.
This absolutely does not mean that the city can hold out indefinitely, but it is a huge morale boost, proves that the SDF have learned important lessons from 2018-19 wars, and crucially shows that a multi-ethnic force can work effectively together under extreme pressure.
Pro-Turkish sources are still claiming that the city has fallen while Manbij Military Council members are freely moving about filming videos of the streets absolutely littered with SNA dead.
As details emerge from SDF and local sources, today’s impressive defence of Manbij is proof that a lightly armed but well prepared and highly disciplined defender can inflict intolerable losses on a more numerous & much better equipped attacker, even one with total air supremacy.
The era of tyranny is over Today we turn the page on the past and open the door of hope to unify the efforts of Syrians towards a better future based on justice and democracy. Let us stop the shooting and make dialogue the basis for peace and construction.
"The era of tyranny is over"
Confident statement by NES's defacto foreign minister that follows similarly positive messaging from other noteable leaders. They've kept the democratic confederalist project alive until now, and I am cautiously optimitic they'll continue to do so.
...committed by Islamists since the fall of ISIS, amongst others the near-total ethnic cleansing of Afrin and now Shebha region of Kurds and other ethnic minorities. If Manbij is taken we will likely see a repeat of the rape, torture and brutal executions still ongoing in Shebha.
Entering a very dangerous period for Rojava; a massive assault on Manbij is underway. The SNA (opposition faction distinct from HTS) are attempting to capture the city from the SDF by attacking on 3 sides. The SNA have been responsible for some of the most apalling atrocities...
There's a lot of talk of strategic points and captured equipment and so on, but for me the main thing is that people can go to school, or the shops, or for a walk across town, without having to cross potentially hostile checkpoints. People can drive around the ring road. Life will be easier.
Woke up this morning to news that the SDF control all of Hasakah and Qamişlo. It's amazing that this is how it ends, after all the blood that's been spilt over those enclaves.
End of an era in Qamişlo and Heseke as loyalist areas come under SDF control.
Many large posters of Assad, lots of Zahreddine too, and a really amateur statue of Hafaz on the corner of the park. All will be pulled down over the coming days.
Photo from my first full year in Rojava, 2019.
Post-Assad Syria, what are you most looking forward to?
🚂 Restoration of Al-Ya’rubiyah-Damascus train line?
🛫 €29 Ryanair flights to Qamişlo?
🍫 Return of SnackBars (Syrian Snickers) at original price of $1 per dozen?
☠️ Ba’ath party loyalists getting the noose?
Heyva Sor a Kurdistanê e.V.
Kreissparkasse Köln
IBAN: DE49 3705 0299 0004 0104 81
BIC/SWIFT: COKSDE33XXX
Reference: Rojava
PayPal: heyvasorakurdistan@gmail.com
The Kurdish Red Crescent are actively calling for donations. They are currently the only NGO providing aid to the 200,000+ refugees arriving into Tabqa and Minbij, and will inevitably be responsible for building longer-term camps for them. Please donate if you can.
Our attention now should turn to Minbij. SNA seem to be intent on taking it, and a lot will come down to what Turkey decides. I suspect there is a lot of negotiation going on between Russia, Turkey and US about this, as so far Turkish Airforce have been quite restrained.
Summary:
I don't think NW Syria has been quite the failure for SDF as being portrayed online, but at the same time I think there is very real chance there is humanitarian tragedy playing out that we won't be aware of until more evacuees arrive in SDF areas and can share info.
Just to add, regarding right-bank of the Euphrates: I cannot find any reliable evidence of this supposed huge Hashad al-Shabi convoy being bombed by the US. No-one I know in YPG/SDF knows anything about it and the US don't seem to have commented on it.
The Deir-ez-Zor military council, supported by other SDF elements (I presume YPG, but don't know) are moving carefully to avoid unnecessary losses. There appears to have been a pause in fighting today but I can't get information as to why.
Contrary to reports online, they are not facing stiff resistance, but are also not in a rush to take the town. As result of it being a bridgehead, surrounded for years, it is heavily mined, yet also has a sizeable civilian prescence.
Now that the SAA have collapsed in the North, there is no reason to hold back, and SDF HQ have approved plans to take the pocket, consolidating their control of eastern Deir-ez-Zor. the USAF struck several overwatch positions and DMC are advancing on the ground.
US CENTCOM, local tribes and Deir-ez-Zor Military Council (DMC) have all been pushing SDF HQ to authorise an operation to take it for several years now. Due to the delicate balance of power between SAA and SDF in North West, this was considered politically unwise.
