Syria: Kurds of Syrian Democratic Forces capture strategic town of Tell Rifaat from Arab rebels in Aleppo province
Kurdish rebels captured a strategic town during overnight fighting with Arab rebel forces in northwestern Syria’s Aleppo province, according to activists.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said Monday the Syrian Democratic Forces — a U.S.-backed coalition of Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian rebel groups — gained control over Tell Rifaat, which overlooks the junction of two main roads leading to Aleppo City.
One of the SDF’s main fighting units is the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which has recently captured territory along much of Turkey’s southern border and has been under attack by the Turkish military since Saturday.
The YPG and its SDF allies also captured the nearby village of Kafr Naseh on Monday, SOHR reported.
The Kurdish advances coincide with a Russian-backed Syrian military offensive in Aleppo province that has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee for the Turkish border.