Turkish-YPG clashes rage around critical sites in northern Syria
Turkey and its allies among the Syrian rebel forces have intensified attacks on Syrian Kurdish fighters in northwest Syria as Turkey's buildup continues.
Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies have stepped up attacks against Syrian Kurdish fighters in northwest Syria, part of an effort to roll back the US-supported group known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkish officials call a threat to Turkey’s national security.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the clashes occurred around the village of Ain Daqna and Menagh, an air base north of Aleppo that is coveted by the Turkish-backed Euphrates Shield alliance. A commander from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the YPG-led multi-ethnic group that is currently fighting Islamic State militants in Raqqa, told Al-Monitor that the Turkish-inspired operations against the YPG were being directed from an area 6 kilometers (roughly 4 miles) south of the alliance-held town of Azaz.
