Turkish-backed militias, operating under the Syrian National Army (SNA), have advanced into northern Syria, displacing tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians. The SNA captured Manbij, a Kurdish-controlled city, on Tuesday. This followed last week’s seizure of Shahba, where Kurdish officials reported over 120,000 people were forced to flee. The SNA’s offensive is part of “Operation Dawn of Freedom,” aimed at removing Kurdish forces from northern Syria.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which played a key role in defeating ISIS, has controlled much of Rojava, or Syrian Kurdistan, since 2017. The SDF confirmed its forces have faced limited engagements with the SNA but successfully repelled an attack near Kobani, a key city in Kurdish resistance against ISIS. The SNA has reportedly destroyed infrastructure in Manbij and is advancing toward Raqqa, raising concerns about destabilization in areas with high numbers of ISIS prisoners.
Turkey, a NATO member, supports the SNA to counter the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and its women’s wing, the YPJ, which Ankara equates with the PKK, a Marxist group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views Kurdish autonomy near Turkey’s border as a national security threat.
This escalation follows the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime after the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized Damascus last weekend. While both SNA and HTS are Sunni Islamist groups, they remain at odds. HTS declared itself in charge of Syria’s “transition” government but has limited operations in Kurdish areas. Analysts warn that the SNA’s territorial gains could grant it leverage over HTS in post-war negotiations.
The SDF has condemned the SNA’s offensive as an ethnic-cleansing campaign. Displaced civilians are struggling to find shelter as the conflict reshapes northern Syria’s political and humanitarian landscape.
