Kurdish-led forces push back Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in a tense offensive

QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Kurdish-led fighters in Syria, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, said Tuesday they have launched a counter-offensive against the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkey.

The Kurdish-led SDF is Washington’s critical ally in Syria, targeting sleeper cells of the extremist Islamic State group scattered across the country’s east.

Since the fall of the totalitarian rule of Bashar Assad earlier this month, clashes have intensified between the U.S.-backed group and the SNA, which captured the key city of Manbij and the areas surrounding it.

The intense weekslong clashes come at a time when Syria, battered by over a decade of war and economic misery, negotiates its political future following half a century under the Assad dynasty’s rule.

https://apnews.com/article/syria-kurds-turkey-sdf-manbij-kobani-84928d1755cc09c239fe00074291ff0f