This week in Northern Syria (XXII)
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This week in Northern Syria (XXII)
A rundown of key events from Turkish/SNA & SDF-controlled territories
Events
11/29/22: Al-Monitor reported that “that all US civilian staff, including diplomats, have been evacuated to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as Turkey continues to target SDF assets.”
11/30/22: A seemingly small contingent of Russian reinforcements arrived in al-Shahba’ region.
12/01/22: Telegram channels local to northern Aleppo published a document from the Turkish Directorate of Presidential Affairs dated the week prior increasing the wages of employees at a number of institutions in Turkish-controlled areas.
12/01/22: Turkish state media announced the arrest of five Islamic State members in an operation carried out by MIT in northeastern Syria. Among them included the IS official allegedly “in charge of the ‘Peace Spring’ area.”
12/01/22: Turkish shelling damaged the village mosque of al-Tirwaziyah, located along the M4 highway front line in eastern al-Raqqah governorate. This location is notable as it is where Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf was murdered by members of SNA faction Ahrar al-Sharqiyah during Turkey’s 2019 invasion of the area. While it is under SDF control there are reportedly two regime positions in the village.
12/02/22: Turkish forces reportedly stood up a contingent of Russian soldiers waiting two hours for them at border gate west of al-Hasakah’s Dirbasiyah in order to conduct a scheduled joint patrol of the area.
12/02/22: The SDF temporarily stopped all cooperation with the Coalition, including anti-IS counter terrorism operations.
12/03/22: Four children between the ages of 11 and 15 were wounded by Turkish shelling in the Tell Tamer countryside.
12/03/22: Two individuals were reportedly killed by a Turkish drone strike targeting a vehicle in the vicinity of Sanjak Sa’doun, south of Amude.
12/03/22: A fighter affiliated with the SNA’s Furqat al-Sultan Suleiman Shah was killed at a checkpoint in the Afrin town of Marate belonging to SNA faction Furqat al-Hamzah. The fighter killed belonged to the al-Mawali tribe, which mobilized and temporarily seized the checkpoint in response. The two Hamzah fighters responsible were later turned over to the Military Police.
12/04/22: The AANES Education Commission in al-Shahba’ announced the suspension of all schools in the area due to lack of fuel. This is the result of the continued blockade of the SDF’s al-Shahba’ pocket by the regime’s Fourth Division.
12/05/22: A car reportedly belonging to the AANES’s Education Commission was destroyed in an IED attack in the center of al-Qamishli. According to the Asayish only one individual was wounded.
12/05/22: Commander of Russian forces in Syria Aleksandr Chaiko visited al-Qamishli to meet with Mazloum ‘Abdi and other SDF officials. This meeting and more was touched on in a recent interview with ‘Abdi by Ibrahim Hamidi for al-Sharq al-Awsat.
Other
Press conference held by SDF Commander in Chief Mazloum ‘Abdi on 11/29/22
These videos from the Jazirah are always wild to me:
Image of a truck transporting recently logged timber, allegedly relating to Hay’at Tha’iroun logging operations in the Kafr Jannah area. Overall the Sharran subdistrict to which Kafr Jannah belongs to has been among the most affected by deforestation in Afrin.
RIC thread on Shammar-YPG/SDF relations
Aaron Stein thread speculating on the strategic rationale behind Erdoğan’s recent escalation in Syria:
