SDF commander: "Turkey has carried out indiscriminate attacks"

The top commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Northern Syria said that the recent attacks by Turkish war planes on Saturday did not discriminate between civilians and fighters, or between SDF fighters and Syrian troops.

Speaking to Ronahi TV, Mazloum Abdi said that they have intelligence suggesting the attacks are likely to continue, and that Ankara tried to justify the airstrikes by falsely accusing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) over a bomb attack in Istanbul, using the deadly incident as an excuse for fresh attacks in Syria.

Abdi said:

"This is [Turkish President] Erdogan's game about the coming elections. Such attacks can never break our will. We were prepared for these attacks, and we do not think that they will inflict great harm to our forces, but if the Turkish state continues with its attacks, everyone will suffer. We don't want a big war to break out. But if the Turkish state insists on waging a war against us, we are prepared to resist. This kind of war will not be limited only to here, it will spread around, and everyone will be affected by it. We call on every party involved to stand up to stop these brutal attacks. According to the information we received, the airstrikes will continue."

About SDF

The SDF, the armed force of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), is part of the US-led global coalition fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.

Serving as the ground force of the global coalition, the SDF played a decisive role in ISIS's territorial defeat.

Turkish authorities claim that the SDF and its major components People's Defense Units (YPG) are affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated a "terrorist group" by Ankara, Washington and Brussels.