(Zaman Al Wasl)- Turkish-backed Syrian National Army have clashed with Kurdish-led forces near Abu al-Rasain area north of Hasaka province despite the presence of Russia's monitoring posts, local activists said Sunday.
The clashes between both sides in a zone between the towns of Tal Tamr and Ras al-Ayn left dozens dead on both sides over the past few weeks.
A total of 251 Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been killed in a military operation launched in October against Kurdish-led militias in northeast Syria, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday.
Turkey and the National Syrian Army on October 9 launched a cross-border attack against Kurdish-held areas, grabbing a 120-kilometre-long (70-mile) swathe of Syrian land along the frontier.
The operation left hundreds dead and caused 300,000 people to flee their homes, in the latest humanitarian crisis in Syria's brutal eight-year war.
Ankara wants to set up a buffer zone on Syrian soil along the entire length of its 440-kilometre-long border, including to resettle some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees currently in Turkey.
Also in northern Syria, the head of Syrian security made a surprise visit to the northeastern city of Qamishli where he met with Tribals figures and commanders of the US-backed forces.
Ali Mamlouk, seeks to stand on the de-facto control map in northeastern Syria as Turkey, Russia and the U.S. have shared the control on the oil-rich territory.
The meetings took place in Qamishli air base which was previously used by American troops until last month, when Turkey launched its two-week-long incursion into northern Syria.
Eight years of war in Syria have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighbouring countries.
Zaman Al Wasl
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