37 killed in Syria clashes between pro-Turkey, Kurdish forces

Jan 9: The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported "fierce battles in the Manbij countryside... in the past hours between the (Kurdish-led) Syrian Democratic Forces and the (Turkish-backed) National Army factions... with Turkish air cover".

The monitor said the attacks "killed 37 people in a preliminary toll", mostly Turkish-backed combatants.

On Wednesday, US-backed Kurdish forces who control an autonomous region in northeastern Syria said they had told the new Damascus authorities they did not want to break away from the rest of the country.

"We agree that we are for the unity and integrity of Syrian territory and reject any division projects that threaten the country's unity," the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, said in a written statement to AFP.

He spoke following a meeting he described as "positive" between Kurdish leaders and the Damascus authorities late last month and after weeks of deadly clashes between the SDF and Turkish-backed groups in northern Syria.

"We support the efforts of the new administration for there to be stability in Syria to pave the way towards building constructive dialogue between Syrians," he said.

"Thus it is the responsibility of the new administration to intervene in order for there to be a ceasefire throughout Syria," he said. (AFP) via AhramOnline