Sun Dec 08 21:36:46 UTC 2024: ## Kurdish-led Forces Clash with Turkish-backed Fighters in Syria
**Beirut, December 9, 2024** – Fierce clashes erupted in northern Syria on Sunday, December 8, 2024, as Turkish-backed Syrian fighters launched an offensive on the Manbij area, resulting in at least 26 combatant deaths. The fighting follows the Turkish-backed forces’ recent seizure of a Kurdish-held enclave and a separate Islamist rebel advance toward Damascus.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, nine pro-Turkish fighters and at least 17 members of the Manbij Military Council (affiliated with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF) were killed in the clashes. Both sides claim significant gains. While the Ankara-backed factions declared control of Manbij on their Telegram channel, posting videos purportedly from within the city, these claims remain unverified by independent sources.
The SDF commander, Mazloum Abdi, separately celebrated what he termed historic moments following the fall of the Assad regime, though the timing of this statement in relation to the Manbij clashes is unclear. The situation remains highly volatile, with ongoing fighting and conflicting accounts of territorial control. The offensive marks a significant escalation in the ongoing Syrian conflict.
First Piper 