Following PKK attacks on Turkish army bases in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) on December 22 and 23, tensions are rising in the region.
On the afternoon of 23 December, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) launched ground and air strikes against infrastructure and institutional centres in spaces controlled by the Autonomous Administration in northern and eastern Syria. Then, the next day, the rural regions of Afrin, Kobani and Cizîre were targeted.
The Rojava Information Center (RIC) reported at least 10 airstrikes in the city of Qamishli on Monday morning.
The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) said 29 targets, in addition to caves, shelters, barracks and oil installations, were attacked. Sources in Rojava reported that power plants and oil refineries in Derik and Tirbespiye had been shelled.
The commander general of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazlum Abdi, said that “the infrastructure and livelihoods of civilians” were attacked. Abdi noted on social media that Turkey had attacked Rojava’s infrastructure for the third time in a year.
In his statement, Abdi said: “The repeated attacks on the infrastructure and livelihoods of civilians in north-east Syria, three times in one year, are a war crime and a professional policy by the Turkish state aimed at targeting our other peoples and destabilizing the region. “
According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a total of 11 airstrikes were carried out yesterday, the attacks on Kobani and Qamishli by the Turkish armed forces.
In addition to the airstrikes, hospitals in Qamishli have appealed for blood donations, reflecting the gravity of the situation. The details of the airstrikes of the day are as follows:
– Power station in Meysalun district
– A point close to the exercise station in the El-Antarih district.
– An attack on a printing shop on West Hizam Road left 3 other people injured.
– Construction near COVID hospital on Hizam East Road
– “Sadcop” fuel storage and distribution facility near the prison with ISIS members in the El-Alaya neighborhood of Kamishli
– Another location in the El-Alaya neighborhood.
– Cement factory on East Hizam Road
– Eş-Şimal company near silos in the Kanat el-Suayis neighborhood
– Qamishli Railway Station
– A mill east of the city of Qamishli.
– The bombing of a corporate structure of the Kobane Autonomous Administration injured two of its employees.
According to SOHR data, the number of drone attacks carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces against spaces controlled by the Autonomous Administration since the beginning of 2023 has reached 117. The attacks left another 86 people dead and more than 100 wounded.
According to the Hawar News Agency (ANHA), TSK also shelled some villages in rural areas of Afrin’s Şêrawa district.
The Democratic Union Party (PYD) Co-Chair of the Executive Council, Foza Yusuf, stated that Turkey has initiated a ‘total war’ in the region and called for a ‘mobilization.’ According to ANHA, Yusuf said, “We declare a total resistance. Our people must mobilize against this war in all cities and institutions. Let’s protect our administrations and our city.” (VC/AEK/VK)