Turkish artillery strike kills a 14 year old in Northern Syria

As Turkey on Tuesday escalated artillery strikes on Kobani city of Northern Syria and its surrounding villages, a 14 year old child was killed and four others were wounded, North Press Agency said, citing hospital sources.

Al-Amal Hospital in the city of Kobani, identified the child as Abdo Muhammad Haji, and one of the injured was a two year old who was hit in his head, North Press said. The other two injured were also civilians. 

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) warned residents of the city not to leave their houses after Kobani and its countryside have been hit since early morning by heavy shelling by Turkish forces.

The AANES, in a statement, held guarantor countries (Russia and the US) responsible for the “crimes of the Turkish occupation against civilians” in Kobani.

The General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the military wing of the AANES, said on Sunday that ISIS (Islamic State) was waiting for the right time to launch attacks and they “will not be able to fight on two fronts at the same time.” 

“Our focus will be on the northern front to protect the area against Turkish attacks, and our operations against ISIS cells will likely decline,” he said. 

On Thursday, a statement by the US-led coalition forces against ISIS condemned the killing of civilians without naming Turkey.

“We denounce the killing of civilians by any and all armed groups,” the statement said, adding, "The Coalition and our SDF partners remain steadfast in our shared goal of ensuring the lasting defeat of ISIS.”