Beirut/Istanbul: Russia intervened to halt a clash between Syrian government forces and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels in northern Syria, sources on both sides said yesterday, the first confrontation between them as both sides fight Islamic State in the area.
Islamic State is under attack from separate campaigns in northern Syria by Russian-backed government forces and Turkey-backed rebels. The clash near the IS-held city of Al Bab underlined the risk of the parallel offensives igniting new fighting between the government and its rebel enemies.
Russia and Turkey have backed opposing sides in the war but recently started cooperating over Syria, brokering a truce between government forces and rebels and working together to try to revive peace talks.
Rebel officials said the clash took place in a village southwest of Al Bab. An official in a military alliance fighting in support of the Syrian government confirmed a clash had taken place. "The Russians intervened to control the situation," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
President Bashar Al Assad is supported in the war by the Russian military and an array of Iranian-backed militias.
Two rebel officials accused the government forces of provoking the incident. One of them said the government forces had moved towards their positions in tanks. "Rebels shot to warn them not to get any closer, but the tank responded and a clash erupted," said the first rebel official. "Later on Russia intervened to calm down the situation," said the rebel official. "This whole incident felt like a test." A second rebel official, a commander in the Al Bab area, added: "They opened fire. Fire was returned."
Both rebel officials said an armoured vehicle had been captured from the government forces. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
