Who against whom - and why? In north-eastern Syria, the civil war simply continues

While Bashar al-Assad's fall is being celebrated in Damascus, the SNA is continuing the war in the Kurdish-controlled areas. The SDF is under pressure, but has advocates in Washington and Jerusalem.

It's a video you'd rather not have seen. It shows fighters entering a hospital room in Manbij. They talk briefly to the two seriously injured patients in their beds. Then they shoot the men in front of the camera.

The shooters posted the clip online themselves. They are fighters from the Syrian National Army (SNA), which is supported by Turkey. Turkish-speaking users share the video.

"Wounded terrorists of PKK/YPG left behind, dying in disgrace after fleeing the city center of Manbij," writes one. Laugh emoji, grin emoji, thumbs up, popping the champagne corks.

"Turkish forces attack US-backed units"

The images of this war crime are uploaded on December 10. Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship is already history by then, but the fighting in Syria continues. The SNA is systematically attacking areas held by either the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) or the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Several groups have come together under the umbrella of the SDF, but it too is dominated by Kurdish militias. Ankara considers both the YPG and the SDF to be in the shadow of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). One day after the fall of Aleppo, parts of the SNA therefore moved east to drive the Kurds out of Manbij.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is providing support: his jets and drones are preparing the SNA attacks on the ground. "Turkish forces attack US-backed units", marveled the New York Times on December 8, the day Assad fled to Moscow.

Erdogan wants to "take advantage of the current chaos"

Washington has stationed around 900 soldiers in Syria and is mainly helping the SDF from the air. The US has long cooperated with the Kurds because they are fighting the so-called Islamic State, which had its unofficial capital in Raqqa, Syria, in 2013. The White House fears that the radicals could spread again in the area.

Erdogan and the SNA "want to use the current chaos to redraw the map in Turkey's favor," says Devorah Margolin from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Ground is being taken from the SDF - "to ensure that their negotiating position is weakened".

The attacks have consequences. Sunni militias are breaking away from the SDF. For example in Dair as-Saur on the Euphrates, which the Kurdish-dominated faction had to evacuate as a result. In Raqqa and al-Hasakah, there are allegedly demonstrations against the SDF, which are said to have been broken up by gunfire. There are said to have been deaths and injuries.

Israel wants to help Kurds

SNA and SDF accuse each other of war crimes. No agreements have yet been reached between the political arm of the SDF - the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) - and the HTS in Damascus, the Kurds write. It is completely unclear what will happen next - also because Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

The incoming US president wants to stay out of the conflict: "This is not our fight," the 78-year-old emphasizes on Truth Social. "Don't get involved!" However, there are some in his circle who are also worried about a new breeding ground for Islamist terrorists. This is what Robert Ford, former US ambassador to Syria, told the BBC.

In public, Trump likes to emphasize his isolationism. In practice, however, this could be put into perspective by his administration. Last but not least, Washington will not risk endangering its ally Israel.

Israel itself is calling for the attacks on the SDF to stop. The Kurds have fought "bravely" against the so-called IS and are a "stabilizing force" in Syria, explains Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. Jerusalem is therefore in dialog with Washington.