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Clashes Continue in NE Syria Despite US Push for Cease-fire

Zana Omar

   TAL TAMR, SYRIA / WASHINGTON - Intense clashes continue between Syrian
   Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed militants in the
   northeastern Syrian town of Tal Tamr, despite a U.S. push for
   cease-fire, local officials said Friday.

   Kurdish officials told VOA that firefights in the villages of Anek
   al-Hawa, Tal Muhammad, Khirbet Jammu and Mahmudiya continued as Syrian
   militia, supported by Turkey, attempted to enter Tal Tamr from seven
   kilometers outside town.

   'We will have victory'

   "Yesterday, we faced fierce attacks and there was a lot of
   resistance,"Benas Ziber, an SDF field commander, told VOA. "We lost
   some villages, but our comrades later repelled the attacks and made
   progress in some villages, such as Mahmudiya and Khirbet Jammu."

   Ziber said fighting later focused on Qasimiyah and Mahmudiya villages
   as SDF fighters tried to repel advances by Turkish-backed forces. He
   said the SDF was determined to fight back, vowing, "We will have
   victory and will not give up one meter of our land."

   The reports of fighting come as U.S. officials said they are continuing
   to push the SDF and Turkey to halt the clashes and stick to a
   cease-fire that was agreed to last month. U.S. officials claim the
   cease-fire deal is "mostly" holding despite repeated violations.

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