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Syria
Smokes billows in Qamishli in northeastern Syria close to the Turkish border amid Turkish military strikes in the area on December 25, 2023. Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday called on the people of northeast Syria (Rojava) to solidify the “resistance” and join the force’s ranks in the face of the recent Turkish bombardments.
The Turkish army has been relentlessly bombarding power stations, oil fields and refineries, and other civil service facilities in Rojava, especially Qamishli, since Saturday after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas.
Ankara has struck at least 25 service facilities in its retaliatory strikes in Rojava. The attacks have resulted in the death of eight civilians, including two women, according to Farhad Shami, head of the SDF media center.
“In the face of all these attacks, it is imperative for our people in northern and eastern Syria to swiftly exhibit immediate responses in self-defense. They should proactively work to solidify the structure and resilience of their organization at the highest levels,” read a statement from the SDF published late Monday.
The SDF called on the people of Rojava to “act with awareness and responsibility” and to refrain from relying “solely on external protection,” urging them to “actively” join the ranks of the Kurdish-led force.
The SDF also called on the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) and Russia to break their silence regarding the recent escalation of Turkish strikes.
Local media in Rojava reported that Turkey’s Monday airstrikes targeted hospitals.
North Press Agency, a media outlet close to the Kurdish authorities in Rojava, reported that a drone strike hit a hospital in Qamishli.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement that one of their medical facilities in Kobane was targeted.
“The clinic used to be managed by MSF, but activities were handed over to local health authorities in 2019,” it stated, urging “all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of health facilities.”
Shami posted a video on X, showing the aftermath of the Turkish airstrikes on a dialysis center in Qamishli. He described the attacks as “blatant war crimes amid suspicious international silence.”
The Turkish defense ministry on Monday said that its airstrikes in Rojava and Kurdistan Region on Saturday night “neutralized” at least 26 members of the Kurdish groups. Turkey uses the term “neutralize” to denote adversaries captured, wounded, or killed.
"Turkish aggression took a dangerous turn today through expanding targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities in North & East Syria," Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the SDF, said in a post on X.
He called on Ankara to "focus on its internal issues and address them within its borders," referring to Turkey's conflict with the PKK.
The Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES), which governs Rojava, said in a statement on Sunday that “these attacks increase human and economic suffering.”
The main battlefield in the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish army has moved out of Turkey’s borders and into the north of the Kurdistan Region where both the PKK and Turkish forces have recently increased their attacks on the other. Turkey also frequently targets Kurdish forces in Rojava which it says are offshoots of the PKK. Civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire.
The Turkish army has been relentlessly bombarding power stations, oil fields and refineries, and other civil service facilities in Rojava, especially Qamishli, since Saturday after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers in Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas.
Ankara has struck at least 25 service facilities in its retaliatory strikes in Rojava. The attacks have resulted in the death of eight civilians, including two women, according to Farhad Shami, head of the SDF media center.
“In the face of all these attacks, it is imperative for our people in northern and eastern Syria to swiftly exhibit immediate responses in self-defense. They should proactively work to solidify the structure and resilience of their organization at the highest levels,” read a statement from the SDF published late Monday.
The SDF called on the people of Rojava to “act with awareness and responsibility” and to refrain from relying “solely on external protection,” urging them to “actively” join the ranks of the Kurdish-led force.
The SDF also called on the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) and Russia to break their silence regarding the recent escalation of Turkish strikes.
Local media in Rojava reported that Turkey’s Monday airstrikes targeted hospitals.
North Press Agency, a media outlet close to the Kurdish authorities in Rojava, reported that a drone strike hit a hospital in Qamishli.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement that one of their medical facilities in Kobane was targeted.
“The clinic used to be managed by MSF, but activities were handed over to local health authorities in 2019,” it stated, urging “all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of health facilities.”
Shami posted a video on X, showing the aftermath of the Turkish airstrikes on a dialysis center in Qamishli. He described the attacks as “blatant war crimes amid suspicious international silence.”
The Turkish defense ministry on Monday said that its airstrikes in Rojava and Kurdistan Region on Saturday night “neutralized” at least 26 members of the Kurdish groups. Turkey uses the term “neutralize” to denote adversaries captured, wounded, or killed.
"Turkish aggression took a dangerous turn today through expanding targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities in North & East Syria," Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the SDF, said in a post on X.
He called on Ankara to "focus on its internal issues and address them within its borders," referring to Turkey's conflict with the PKK.
The Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES), which governs Rojava, said in a statement on Sunday that “these attacks increase human and economic suffering.”
The main battlefield in the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish army has moved out of Turkey’s borders and into the north of the Kurdistan Region where both the PKK and Turkish forces have recently increased their attacks on the other. Turkey also frequently targets Kurdish forces in Rojava which it says are offshoots of the PKK. Civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire.
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