The week in Northern Syria (III)
The week in Northern Syria (III)
A rundown of key events from Turkish/SNA & SDF-controlled territories
I’ve been very busy with other work, so both this week’s newsletters will only feature the events and geolocation sections…
Events
07/18/22: Further regime reinforcements including armor and artillery arrived in ‘Ain ‘Isa and Kobanî in the context of Turkey’s continued threats of a new military operation.
07/18/22: Turkish and Russian forces conducted their 106th joint military patrol in Syria’s northeast since the ceasefire agreement reached between the two in October of 2019. This patrol passed through a number of villages and towns in the western Kobanî countryside before Turkish forces returned across the border at the Syrian town of Ashmah.
07/19/22: Turkish drone strike targeted a regime military post in the town of Tell Rifa‘at, injuring a soldier and a lieutenant in the Military Security Branch (intelligence service).
07/19/22: SNA fighters reportedly destroyed a bulldozer with an ATGM on the Ibbin/Bênê front. It had been building berms at a new Iranian position on the outskirts of the village.
07/19/22: Furqat al-Hamza and Furqat al-Sultan Suleiman Shah allegedly left the Hay’at Tha‘iroun lil-Tahrir alliance, though no official statements have been published by either group since these reports emerged. If true this would leave Furqat al-Sultan Murad and Furqat al-Mu‘tasim as the most prominent members of the Tha‘iroun coalition. Meanwhile, SNA faction Furqat Malekshah reportedly left the al-Jabhah al-Shamiyah-led Third Legion for Hay’at Tha‘iroun, though the group also has yet to put out any official statement on the matter. Furqat Malekshah was formed in mid-2020 by a number of brigades (mostly from Homs) after defecting from Furqat al-Sultan Murad.
07/19/22: Protests against the SDF by members of the Jabour tribe (al-Qudah clan) broke out in the al-Hasakah village of Qana after a tribesmen died in an AANES-run prison. The individual, an Abu Bahr al-Gadi, was reportedly arrested three days prior in the Ghweiran neighborhood of al-Hasakah city.
07/19/22: Joint statement published by the presidents of Iran, Russia, and Turkey following their tripartite summit in Tehran:
07/20/22: Commander-in-chief of the SDF Mazloum Abdi met with US Army General Michael Kurilla, current commander of Centcom. Kurilla “[reiterated] the opposition of the U.S. military and government…to any potential Turkish aggression.”
07/20/22: Turkish Intelligence arrested an alleged PKK operative named Savaş Çelik, holding him responsible for the 2015 killing of Malazgirt Jandarma commander Major Arslan Kulaksız before transferring him to Turkey. It’s not confirmed whether the operation took place in Syria as Turkish media has only referred to it as occurring “abroad,” however intelligence sources reported Çelik had crossed the border into Syria soon after the attack.
07/20/22: A Turkish drone targeted a car traveling in the Kobanî countryside, killing two SDF fighters by the names of Kendal Rojava and Berkhodan Kobanî. A Turkish drone strike hit newly created regime positions in the western Kobanî town of Zour Maghar the following day as well, though only material damage was reported.
07/21/22: A Turkish drone targets an SDF vehicle near the al-Hasakah town of Qira, injuring several.
07/22/22: A Turkish drone strike targeted a car traveling along the al-Qamishli - al-Qahtaniyah/Tirbespiyê road near the village of Shorek, killing three veteran YPJ fighters. These women were later identified by the SDF as Jiyan Tolhildan, a commander of the Anti-Terror Units (YAT), YAT member Barin Botan, and commander Roj Khabour from the city of al-Darbasiyah, and
07/22/22: The car of Ferhad Temî, a member of the executive board of the ENKS-affiliated Şepêla Pêşeroja Kurdistan Sûriyê party, was destroyed in a molotov cocktail attack carrier out by unknown individuals (possibly the pro-PYD ‘Revolutionary Youth’ organization) in al-Darbasiyah.
07/23/22: Following a Russian airstrike in the Idlib town of Judaydah the day prior - which killed seven including four children from the same family and wounded twelve others - opposition forces from around northwestern Syria retaliated against regime positions. At dawn of the 23rd, Harakat al-Tahrir wa’l-Bina’ launched attacks on the front lines of Tadef, just south of al-Bab.
07/24/22: Recently constructed settlement village Kuwait al-Rahmah (more on it and nearby construction here), located in southeastern Afrin, was struck by missiles fired from al-Shahba’ region. One civilian was killed and two others were wounded. As is the case with similar such attacks that have occurred in the past two years, we are currently unable to determine whether these were fired by regime forces or the SDF/HRE. Missile fragments visible at 1:57 in the video below.
07/24/22: One civilian was reportedly killed and eight others wounded in shelling carried out by Turkish or SNA forces along the Tell Tamer/Zirgan front lines, east of Serê Kaniyê/Ras al-‘Ain.
07/24/22: Harakat al-Tahrir wa’l-Bina’ announced the arrest of an individual affiliated with a cell responsible for January 2022 attack in the Afrin town of Rajo, which target the head of the SIG-affiliated Local Council. It’s unclear what actors the cell was affiliated with, despite the remaining members having been arrested previously.
Geolocations
Hatay Deputy Governor Orhan Akturk visits the Souq al-Hal project outside the city of Afrin. This is a new large scale market and industrial city currently under construction just southeast of the city.
The 07/22/22 Turkish drone strike killing YPJ commanders Jiyan Tolhildan, Barin Botan, Roj Khabour, just outside the town of Shorek (شورك), al-Hasakah. (Source of images)
Footage of the Harakat al-Tahrir wa’l Bina’ attack on regime positions in the town of Tadef, launched in response to the ‘Judaydah massacre.’
