Syrian Army Clash With Kurdish Alliance

JAKARTA - The Syrian army and allied forces are facing attacks by troops affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces Alliance (SDF) against villages in rural northern Deir Al Zor province.

SDF is a Kurdish-led alliance in northern and eastern Syria in collaboration with the US-led coalition against ISIS. Pioneered by the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) and including Arab fighters, they control a quarter of Syria, including oil fields and areas where about 900 US troops were deployed.

Turkey, a neighbor of Syria in the north, considers the YPG and SDF as terrorists' groups.

Earlier, hundreds of Iranian-backed Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria on Monday, helping the Syrian government fight the rebels who seized Aleppo last week. But Hezbollah Lebanon currently has no plans to join them, according to sources.

The constellation of Iran's allied regional militia group, assisted by Russian air force, is an integral part of the success of pro-government forces in defeating rebels in Syria who rose against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011.

But the alliance faces a new test after last week's flash strikes by rebels in northwestern Syria, with Russia focusing on war in Ukraine and Hezbollah's leadership being crushed by war with Israel which ended in a ceasefire last week.

The rebel attack on Aleppo was the biggest success of anti-Assad fighters over the years.

Government forces have taken full control of Aleppo since capturing Syria's largest city in the 2016 siege, one of the major turning points in a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.