SDF: Turkey has targeted Northern Syria 59 times this year
A top commander of a Kurdish armed group announced that Turkey has targeted areas in Northern Syria over 50 times this year alone.
Mazloum Kobani, the commander in chief of SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) which has been controlling swathes of areas in north and east of Syria since it defeated ISIS (Islamic State,) said that women and children along with many Kurdish fighters have lost their lives during Turkey’s 59 attacks throughout the year.
In a series of Twitter posts where he sent his condolences to the families of people who lost their lives during the last two days of Turkish attacks, Kobani called on the guarantor states of a ceasefire agreement with Turkey to intervene.
“International guarantors should clarify their position and put an end to it,” Kobani said.
Following a Turkish invasion in Northern Syria in 2019, Turkey signed two ceasefire agreements, one with Russia and the other with the US stipulating ceasing all hostilities and the withdrawal of the SDF 32 km away from the Turkish border.
According to the agreement signed at the time, the SDF withdrew its heavy weapons from the border regions and handed them over to local military councils under the supervision of the US-led Global Coalition, said North News, an agency affiliated with the SDF, but Turkey continued its shelling and attacks with armed drones.
In return, Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday complained that US and Russia did not to fulfill the pledges they made in the agreement on eliminating “terrorist organizations” from northern Syria.
Turkey sees YPG (People’s Protection Units,) the main component of the SDF as having ties with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) which has been waging an armed struggle against Turkey since 1984.
The PKK is also deemed as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU but the US-led coalition in Syria accepted YPG as a powerful ally during the battle against ISIS and helped it with arms and training.
