Kurdish forces accused the Turkish army of having bombed several regions under their control in northern Syria on Saturday evening, when Ankara announced that “the hour of reckoning has come”, following the recent attack in Istanbul.
• Read also: Istanbul attack: the Minister of the Interior accuses the Kurds of the PKK
• Read also: At least six dead in an attack attributed to “a woman” in the heart of Istanbul
The raids come days after the PKK and the Washington-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rejected Ankara’s accusations that they were responsible and denied any connection to the November 13 Istanbul bombing, which killed six and injured 81.
According to the SDS, Turkey carried out airstrikes on areas under its control in the provinces of Aleppo (north) and Hassaké (north-east), in particular against the city of Kobané, near the Turkish border.
“Kobane, the city that defeated the Islamic State, is the target of bombardments by the air force of the Turkish occupation,” announced Farhad Shami, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, an armed coalition dominated by the Syrians). Kurds), who had denied any link with the attack.
More than twenty strikes were carried out by the Turkish army in the two provinces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), an NGO based in London and which has an extensive network of sources in Syria.
The shelling killed at least six members of the FDS and six pro-regime soldiers, according to the OSDH.
The Kurdish forces have not announced any losses in their ranks.
But Mr. Shami confirmed that the Turkish bombardments targeted sites belonging to the Syrian government forces in the provinces of Raqqa and Hassaké (north-east) and Aleppo (north), causing deaths and injuries.
SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi also criticized “aggressive and barbaric” shelling.
“The Turkish bombardment of our areas threatens the entire region. This bombardment serves no party. We are doing everything to avoid a major disaster. If war breaks out, everyone will be affected,” he tweeted.
“Accountable”
“The hour of reckoning has come,” the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter on Sunday, showing the photo of a plane taking off for a night operation without specifying the location.
“The bastards will be held accountable for their treacherous attacks,” the ministry continued on its official account.
Turkish authorities accuse a young woman of Syrian nationality of having planted the bomb, which exploded in the main shopping street of Istiklal, in the center of Istanbul.
The authorities immediately designated the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the YPG (People’s Protection Units), Kurdish militias active in Syria, accused by Turkey of being affiliated with the PKK.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that “the order for the attack was (was) given from Kobané”, a city controlled by Kurdish forces.
The US State Department said on Friday it feared “possible military action by Turkey”, advising its nationals not to travel to northern Syria and Iraq.
AFP
At war since 2011, Syria is fragmented due to the intervention of multiple groups and foreign powers in the conflict.
Between 2016 and 2019, the Turkish army launched three major operations in northern Syria targeting Kurdish militias and organizations.
Turkey, whose soldiers are present in areas of northern Syria, has been threatening since May to launch a major offensive against the SDF, which it considers “terrorists”.
Ankara says it wants to create a 30 kilometer wide “security zone” on its southern border.