Fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army have been ongoing since December [Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images]
Clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) have continued in northeast Syria amid a series of complex negotiations on the future of the embattled northeast of the country where multiple parties are competing for control.
Eight SNA fighters were killed, and eight SDF fighters wounded in clashes near the Tishreen Dam, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which puts the death toll from the clashes that erupted in December at 440 people.
In the Deir az-Zour countryside, three SDF fighters were killed in clashes with tribal fighters according to The New Arab’s affiliate Syria TV, with fighting also erupting between forces affiliated with the new transitional government in Damascus and the Kurdish-led force.
In addition to the spiraling clashes, Syria TVÂ reported that a military convoy of the transitional government, which is dominated by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has arrived on the frontlines of the strategically important Tishreen Dam area, ready to participate in the fighting between the SNA and SDF.
The reported escalation comes amid complex talks between Damascus and the SDF, which is seeking to facilitate the integration of the civilian administration and armed factions present in the northeast into a unified Syria.
Three sets of negotiations are taking place between the US and the SDF and HTS, as well as ones between Turkey and HTS, and the SDF and HTS, according to Reuters citing sources from all parties.
As the fighting takes place, Germany’s Middle East and North Africa Director, Tobias Tunkel, announced he had met with SDF leader Masloum Abdi on Sunday.
“I spoke about the urgent issues to be addressed in direct contacts between SDF and HTS leadership. We also discussed continuous joint efforts against ISIS,” Tunkel said.
Amid the tension in the northeast, Syria is continuing to undergo a semblance of international integration, with aid and relief agencies seeking to step up their support for the country amid its political transition.
The UN’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban held meetings in Damascus with the heads of the transitional government’s ministries of water resources and education, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
A delegation from Norway led by Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eid also met with de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, with both foreign ministers stressing the need for an inclusive political transition and the entry of aid.
Al-Shaibani was also quoted by SANA as recognising Norway’s efforts at supporting sanctions relief.
Although Washington’s sanctions are still in place on Syria, Al-Monitor reported on Sunday that outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress that his administration is issuing sanctions waivers to a series of Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, as well as Ukraine, to support the entry of aid to Syria.
It is not known what will be the approach to the new Syrian government of the incoming Trump administration.
HTS led a rebel offensive in December that overthrew Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, after five decades of Baathist rule.
