Fighting among rebels in northern Syria kills dozens

Two days of fighting in rebel-held parts of northern Syria killed dozens of people as al-Qaida-linked militants press their offensive against Turkey-backed rebels, a war monitor and activists says.

The new wave of fighting comes after US President Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement in mid-December that he was withdrawing 2,000 troops from Syria and Turkish threats to carry out a military operation against Kurdish fighters.

With their offensive, the al-Qaeda-linked fighters are trying to cut off Turkey-backed fighters in the northern enclave of Afrin from those in the northwestern province of Idlib, amid concerns that Turkey might make a deal with Russia at the expense of the extremists, said Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

— AP