You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rantburg Exclusive: SDF Battefield Combat Report 3/3/2018 - Gerndains Taking a Beating
2018-03-04
SDF Statement: Despite the UN Security Council Resolution 2401, which obligates all parties to stop hostilities, the Turkish state continues to violate international resolutions and targets our people in Afrin with various types of weapons and air raids, which expose our people to a systematic annihilation. Therefore, our forces are confined to self-defense in case of any attacks in Afrin.

1‐ Afrin/city center: the Turkish invasion army and its affiliated terrorist factions (ISIS-AL-NUSRA) continue their brutal practices against the civilians, where Maydanki village was exposed to indiscriminate artillery shelling yesterday, which led to civilian casualties including women and children. The artillery shelling is still ongoing on the villages and populated areas.

2‐ Raju: The Turkish invasion army and its allied terrorist factions (ISIS/Al-Nusra) tried to make advances towards in this axis, where our fighters were able to destroy a Turkish military vehicle in Gewandeh village last night and killed everybody inside.

Spontaneously, our fighters destroyed another vehicle for the enemy which was trying to progress towards Ali Beska village, and killed everybody inside the vehicle. Also the Turkish occupation army tried to make advances towards Maseka village, however, our forces repelled their attacks, accordingly, heavy clashes broke out until writing this report.

Yesterday, The Turkish jets conducted several airstrikes on Balilka village, coincided with the outbreak of heavy clashes between our forces and the Turkish invasion army which is using its police private forces (JOH-POH), where the Turkish media have provoked a campaign calling for this forces, but the Turks were disappointed because these forces were trapped in SDF’s ambush and suffered heavy losses, forcing the Turkish army to bring the hovercrafts to move the wounded and evacuate the others from the battlefield. Our forces targeted one of this hovercrafts which fall in the Turkish land. During yesterday’s battles in Balilka village between our forces and the Turkish special forces, dozens of these private forces were killed and wounded, where the Turkish media admitted part of the losses while trying to hide the real number. The Turkish artillery shelling still continue against the populated areas.

3‐ Sharra: for the third day in a row, the Turkish occupation army and its Jihadist factions have been shelling indiscriminately Omera village in order to make advances in the village, however, our forces are repelling these attacks. Our forces destroyed a Turkish military vehicle yesterday and killed all of the soldiers inside.

The Turkish jets raided on a point for the national units of the Syrian army causing martyrs and wounded.

4‐ Jinderes: the invaders tried to advance towards Bafloun village. Our forces engaged with the invaders until yesterday’s midnight. The preliminary reports refer to the death of 26 terrorists including Turkish soldiers, while the invaders re-attacked the village this morning, which accordingly our forces repelled them , causing many casualties within the ranks of the invaders.

Helmeka village also was a target for the Turkish raids and artillery shelling.

5‐ Shiyeh/Shaik Hadid: this axis was a target for the Turkish artillery, which caused damages for civilian properties. The shelling is still ongoing until writing this report.

6- Mabatah: all of the villages in this axis were targets for the Turkish indiscriminate shelling since yesterday until writing this report, where our forces observed movements for the Turkish soldiers in Demliya village and engaged with them, and pushing them back. The Turkish invasion army and its terrorist factions re-attacked Demliya and Ba’dina villages in this morning, accordingly, our forces repelled the attacks, where heavy clashes still ongoing until writing this report.

Kakhrah village was a target for the Turkish indiscriminate shelling yesterday causing civilian casualties.

SDF MEDIA CENTER
2 March 2018

Two adjustments were made by Turkey after a month of failed efforts. They assigned another battle unit of armor that had rapid fire weapons that could destroy enemy fortifications versus the standard tank. As per the video below, one of those armored assault vehicles were easily eliminated by YPG ATGMs. And per the above report, the other change was to send in special forces, who are now taking loses.


Syrian regime troops are also taking casualties so this puts Russia in a difficult position in Syra as they do business with both Syria and Turkey. Turkey attacked a Syrian military facility near Manbij which is outside of the Afrin Canton conflict and a direct challenge to Pencil Neck.
Posted by:Ulaigum Ebbineng7056

#12  The above map and others is available at:

https://twitter.com/CivilWarMap

Syrian Civil War Map (Twitter)
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056   2018-03-04 20:26  

#11  Afrin Kurdish Canon Region:

Legend
Yellow: YPG/SDF
Cyan: Turk/FSA Held Areas
Dark Cyan/Blue: Newly Captured Areas During The Past 24 Hours

It appears due to Turk Air superiority the Kurds are moving out of structures into Mountains and other terrains to do guerilla style attacks. One YPJ fighter survived 26 days behind Turk lines in such a manner.
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056   2018-03-04 20:09  

#10  Per TW's request:

Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056   2018-03-04 20:01  

#9  The Islamic colonization of Europe is the axis of Erdogan, Soros, Merkel. nATO is dead because the Soviet Union was destroyed by Reagon 30 years ago. The world needs an anti-Islamic NATO. The world wide headquarters of which should be in Jerusalem.
Posted by: Omeger Gray6606   2018-03-04 18:26  

#8  Erdogan will learn the same lesson Stalin did early in WWII, when you purge the military of all of your competent officers and senior NCOs and promote true believers and sycophants, you wind up with an incompetent military.

Erdogan is getting his butt handed to him by the Kurds, his only victories are when he bombs and bombards with indiscriminate artillery.

Funny I haven't heard a word from HRW on Erdogan's tactics in Syria. Can't wait for a major airstrike by either the US or Russia. That's when the fun begins. I don't think this serves either Russia or US purposes at all.

I am beginning to think of Turkey as ISIN (Islamic State in NATO).
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom   2018-03-04 12:10  

#7  Ulaigum Ebbineng7056, it occurs to me that a simple map of the area would help me visualize what is going on, but pretty much all I could find were satellite photos. If you happen across something like the one seen here, I’d be thrilled.
Posted by: trailing wife   2018-03-04 11:44  

#6  I think maybe people don't realize just how tiny Rantburg really is.

We know, Herb McCoy7309. But this is a very specialized area of interest, and I, at least, am careful with whom I share Rantburg in my very civilian circle. And beyond that, most people seem simply uninterested in the idea that the jihadi threat is meaningful. A recently retired girlfriend of mine just got back from a trip to Paris, and now is on safari in Kenya, after which she will meet her husband in Germany to visit the cousins there. When I suggest situational awareness, she waves it off.

I started paying attention to the world in the latter half of the 1980s, when Mr. Wife came back from business trips with stories about the post office in Athens that was blown up after he mailed a letter, the Greek island ferry that sold its last ticket to the people in front of him in line, then was attacked by anarchists in motorboats with machine guns, the idiots tossing grenades into Paris cafés as they rode by on motorcycles the summer his flights stopped there on his way to and from the Middle East... I heard about these things when he laughingly told the stories to others, because he didn’t want me to worry — and obviously nothing bad ever happened to him. But I needed to know when to worry when he was abroad, which turned out to be how he spent the career he will retire from in a few months. I am the only spouse in my circle who pays attention, though; even the trailing husband who wore a gun on his hip the entire time they were on assignment in Caracas is not concerned about his wife on safari in Kenya with a group of middle aged American ladies.
Posted by: trailing wife   2018-03-04 11:39  

#5  SDF lost Raju upon which the Turks sent in their germdain special forces on a patrol in the streets of Raju which resulted in 9 of them being wiped out in a YPG ambush.
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056   2018-03-04 06:55  

#4  Helicopters are what this Kurdish press agent calls Hovercrafts. They sometimes create their own English words. This is a comment from azadirojava who is in the area reporting on the conflict:

LOL I just hear word is not staggers but stagnates. Goodnight friends. I need sleep so I use right words and not invent nice sounding ones.
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056   2018-03-04 06:51  

#3  forcing the Turkish army to bring the hovercrafts?????????
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2018-03-04 06:15  

#2  You really need a larger platform for stuff like this. 200 clicks a day hardly seems worth the effort of writing it. I think maybe people don't realize just how tiny Rantburg really is. 400 clicks on one article is *huge* for Rantburg, while on most sites that's a rounding error.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309   2018-03-04 05:32  

#1  This SDF report is over 24 hours old. Yesterday I did not post so this is actually yesterdays report which is the latest report released by the SDF. There was no 3/4/2018 report issued today. This usually indicates a major issue contrary to the SDF objectives has occurred. And as per another article posted today:

Turks seize Afrin stronghold, kill scores of Syrian troops

Raju fell. Also, as Raju fell advances were made in two other areas as a big push was executed in Afrin by Turkey during the night in all of these areas.

After the success of these pushes, SDF press office went quite, and the Turks attacked a Syrian regime location near Manbij.

Why is this important? Manbij is where the U.S. presence is. It is a shot over the bow to the U.S.. The Turks are taking Syrian territory and they had to consider a confrontation with Syria was possible in their plans.

The next two weeks will be interesting. Will Russia ditch Syria and go with Turkey? I don't think so. Turkey is too Islamic for Russia to be comfortable with such an allie.

Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056   2018-03-04 01:19  

00:00