Kurdish forces in northern Syria have clashed separately with both Syrian regime forces and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels to the east of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on 1 January.
No casualties have been reported after the violent clashes on frontline at al-Bab city east of Aleppo, the war watchdog said.
The clashes started on the first day of the new year, as reports in Turkey’s pro-government media were referring to Tall Rifat as a possible location for a joint military operations by Turkey and Syria, a result of recent efforts towards a Russian-brokered reconciliation between the two neighbours.
Turkey’s pro-government daily Sabah reported on Monday that Tall Rifat is likely to be the first target of the Turkish army’s planned ground invasion into Syria.
Turkey has been attacking Kurdish targets in North and East Syria since late November, and the Turkish government has repeatedly announced that plans for a ground operation are underway.