US urges Syria de-escalation as Turkish drone strikes continue

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The United States on Friday said that it opposes any military operation that destabilizes the security and stability in Syria, days after a Turkish drone attack killed local leaders of the northeast Syria (Rojava) administration.

“We continue to oppose any military action that destabilizes the situation in Syria. The escalation in Syria and along the Turkish-Syrian border is dangerous and a threat to the safety of civilians,” a US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw’s Dilzar Zubair.

“We urge all parties to immediately de-escalate,” the spokesperson added.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), also known as the Rojava administration, said on Tuesday that a Turkish drone strike killed Yousra Darwesh, co-chair of the Qamishli local council, her deputy Lyman Shweish, and their driver Firat Toma, adding that Kabi Shamoon, the other co-chair of the council, was also injured in the attack.

Following the attack, NES called on the international community to “break its silence regarding the fascist attacks” and to prevent such attacks against Rojava.

Turkey has yet to confirm its involvement in the deadly attack. Ankara often refrains from commenting on its attacks in which civilians are killed. The Turkish army has repeatedly said that it does not target civilians but only those it calls “terrorists.”

Ankara considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey.

Recently. There has been a surge in Turkish attacks on Rojava, leading to the death of local officials, fighters and civilians.

On June 14, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported that a Turkish drone hit a vehicle near a cement factory on the Qamishli-Derik (al-Malikiyah) main road in northeast Syria, killing and injuring at least four.