December 18, 2020 / 09:46 PM
Turkey-backed rebels attack villages in Syrian Kurdistan, kill two civilians

At least two people were killed in fierce clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels east of Ain al-Issa in Syria Kurdistan that began Thursday night, December 17.

The Turkish army and its Syrian proxies attacked Mushayrifah and Jabehl villages with heavy weaponry and were repelled by the SDF, according to Hawar News Agency. The clashes were ongoing as of Friday.

North Press Agency named the two victims as bothers Yusef Abdo Maamou, 31, and Mustafa Abdo Maamou, 55, who were killed when the roof of their home in Jabhel village collapsed on them during shelling.

Turkish forces and the armed opposition groups recently deployed military units to villages near Ain al-Issa and adjacent to the strategic M4 highway, it added.

The clashes are taking place in the area affected by Turkey’s 2019 intervention into northeast Syria in October 2019, known as “Operation Peace Spring,” which displaced thousands of people living the SDF-backed Autonomous Administration of North East Syria (AANES).

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