Turkish artillery targets Manbij, Tel Tamr in Northern Syria

Western countryside of Manbij was targeted once again by Turkish forces and the SNA (Syrian National Army) on Friday three days after the villages in the northeast of the city suffered a similar attack, North Press Agency said.  

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led armed group which controls the area, said the Turkish forces hit the village of Jablat al-Hamra in the west countryside of Manbij with mortar shells without giving information about casualties. 

SDF said the shelling caused a state of fear and panic among the residents.

The city of Manbij, located on a strategic point between Aleppo and the Euphrates River is one of the most important industrial centers in northern Syria, sitting on a commercial road linking the SDF held areas with those of the Syrian government.

Meanwhile, Turkish artillery shelling in the vicinity of a power station caused a power outage in the town of Tel Tamr, north of Hasaka Governorate.

Turkey regularly targets Northern Syria in a bid to clear the region of Kurdish militants which it deems are affiliated with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) constituting a threat alongside Turkey’s southern borders.

Ankara has carried out four operations in northern Syria since 2016, seizing hundreds of kilometers of land and pushing some 30 km deep into the country, mainly targeting the SDF.