SYRIA-CONFLICT-TURKEY-KURDS

Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army duck as smoke billows in the distance at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 11, 2025 amid ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkish-backed factions in northern Syria resumed their fight with the SDF at the same time as Islamist-led rebels were launching an offensive on November 27 that overthrew Syrian president Bashar al-Assad just 11 days later, the pro-Ankara groups capturing Kurdish-held Manbij and Tal Rifaat in northern Aleppo province, despite US-led efforts to establish a truce in the Manbij area. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)