At least 37 people have been killed in clashes between Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed militias in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Thursday.
The UK-based monitoring group said heavy fighting is ongoing between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led rebel organization, and the Turkey-supported Syrian National Army.
The violence is concentrated in northern Syria, a region where tensions between Kurdish factions and Turkish-aligned groups have long simmered. Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the PKK, a Kurdish group it designates as a terrorist organization.
The clashes come amid broader instability in the war-torn country, with competing interests and foreign interventions further complicating efforts to achieve peace. Turkey has conducted multiple military incursions into northern Syria in recent years, seeking to curb Kurdish influence near its border.