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Controversial reports appear about the situation in the area of Jarablus in Syria’s Aleppo province.
Spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) reported Thursday that the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (predominanlty YPG units) had withdrawn from Manbij and from areas west of the Euphrates.
However local sources report that clashes are ongoing between the Turkish-led forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the area south of Jarablus. According to reports, the SDF has seized the villages of Hadrah, Umm Sūsah, Buyuk Dabisah and Balaban from ISIS but lost the village of Amarinah ot the Turkish-led forces.
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The SDF Press Center, official YPG, Turkish and US sources remain silent about these developments.
Meanwhile, some pro-Kurdish sources report about a “heavy defeat” faced by Turkish-backed militants in Ayn al-Bayda outskirts from some Al-Jadir family-led Arab (!) SDF units. Considering very low numbers of Arab fighters in the whole SDF, it’s hard to believe that few Arab SDF units can oppose the Turkish-led advance in northern Syria.
There are 2 options that can explain the current situation:
- Some YPG units remain in the areas west of the Euphrates. In this case, the YPG risks to lost the US military support in the conflict;
- Pro-Kurdish sources depict minor firefights in a, de-facto, neutral area (ISIS withdrew from there yesterday) as major clashes between the sides. Amid high number of propaganda in pro-Kurdish sources in August, this can be possible.
SouthFront closely follows the situation in northern Syria.
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