Rojava declares state of emergency amid increasing Turkish attacks

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, a mainly Kurdish de facto autonomous region also known as Rojava, declared on Wednesday a state of public emergency to increase readiness against continuous Turkish attacks and threats of invasion. 

A statement from the administration’s general council urged its bodies to make the necessary preparations appropriate for the current circumstances, and dedicating all capabilities “in service of the people from any hostile attacks” Rudaw reported.

On Monday, Turkish artillery shells targeting Ain Issa district killed at least two, Kurdish-led SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) said. 

Ankara claims that the autonomous region poses a security threat to its southern borders saying that the YPG (People's Protection Units), a backbone of the SDF, is an off-shoot of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) that took up arms against Turkey for the last 40 years.

In 2019, Turkey launched a military incursion in the region to push Kurdish fighters down south and create what it describes as a 30 km deep safe zone inside Northern Syria. But after a US intervention and a Turkey-Russia deal to keep the borders safe, the military operation came to a halt.

Back in May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed a threat to launch a military operation in Syria “to take new steps regarding the incomplete portions of the 30-km deep safe zone along the southern border” 

The Rojava administration’s statement also accused Turkey of attempting to carry out a demographic change in the region. 

Turkey has already disclosed its plans to build residential blocks in Northern Syria to relocate more than one million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey.