Dozens of pro-Turkey and Kurdish forces killed in fighting in northern Syria

At least 101 fighters have been killed in northern Syria over the past two days amid fighting between Turkish-backed forces and Syrian Kurdish fighters, according to a war monitor. 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Sunday that 85 Turkey-backed fighters and 16 fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed in the fighting, which began on Friday evening in several villages near the city of Manbij.

The SDF, backed by the US, issued a statement saying it had repelled all attacks by fighters who were supported by Turkish air strikes.

The violence erupted after the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) resumed its offensive against the SDF, coinciding with a rebel campaign that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in late November. 

The fighting has led to the capture of Manbij and Tal Rifaat in northern Aleppo, areas previously held by the SDF. Both sides have sustained heavy losses since the escalation.

SOHR chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the SNA is now aiming to seize the cities of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, and al-Tabqa before advancing towards Raqqa.

The SDF, which controls vast swathes of northeastern Syria and parts of Deir Ezzor in the east, formed an autonomous administration in these areas following the withdrawal of Syrian government forces during the civil war. 

The Turkish military regularly targets Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq, accusing them of being linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Ankara designates as a terrorist organisation.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that led the offensive against Assad, has previously said that the SDF will be integrated into Syria's future national army.