SDF and the Syrian Army are gearing up for possible Turkish offensive

The Syrian-based North Press Agency reported that Syrian government forces arrived at the Menagh Air Base in northern Aleppo. The General Command of the Syrian army had announced its readiness to respond to any Turkish attack on the area before the deployment.

The report by the North Press stressed that further reinforcements would be deployed to the area in the wake of intense shelling of Tel Rifaat and the villages to the north of Aleppo by Turkish artillery.

In a separate report, the North Press stated that Syrian Government forces started constructing fortifications to the east of Tel Rifaat in preparation for the impending incursion.

The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, had announced that they would work together with the Syrian government forces to fend off a possible Turkish invasion. Abdi mentioned that Syrian soldiers were taking up positions in “Kobani, Manbij, and other border areas,” which were listed as possible targets by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mazloum Abdi had also stressed that the SDF did not have the strength to fight both Turkey and ISIS at the same time. He criticized the US-led Global Coalition against Daesh by saying “they made stances but they cannot stop the attacks of the Turkish occupation forces against our areas.”

Turkey has been intensifying air strikes and artillery barrages across the board lately. Ankara repeatedly stated that it retained the right to initiate another military incursion whenever it saw fit.