ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – For the third time this week, Turkey shelled areas within the Kurdish Rojava region of northern Syria, injuring some civilians, according to initial reports. France, which has troops on the ground, has expressed its concern about Turkey’s actions.
Turkish tanks targeted villages in the Kobane region on Wednesday. Local media ANHA reported that an unspecified number of civilians were injured.
Kurdish armed forces, the YPG, accused Turkey of “violating our borders” and “shelling the civilian population of Selim village in the Kobane region.”
The YPG said they retaliated, “in accordance with the rules of military engagement,” and destroyed a Turkish military vehicle. They released video of the incident.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported material losses and some injuries in “explosions” heard west of Kobane on Wednesday.
State media in Turkey reported Turkish forces killed four members of the Kurdish forces and injured another six east of the Euphrates River on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, one member of the Kurdish self-defence forces was
killed and another injured by the Turkish army. On Sunday, the Turkish military
shelled Kurdish positions.
The YPG, under the banner of the SDF, are leading military offensives against ISIS on the ground in northern and eastern Syria in coordination with international allies of the coalition.
The US and France have troops on the ground in northern Syria, working with the SDF and YPG.
France’s Foreign Ministry said it was concerned about Turkey’s actions.
“We express our concern over the shelling operations by Turkey that yesterday targeted Northeastern Syria liberated from the control of ISIS. Resolving the Syrian issue can't be through military means,” the ministry tweeted in Arabic on Tuesday, adding that lasting stability will only come through a political agreement in line with the UN Security Council resolutions on Syria.
A senior Kurdish official accused Turkey of attacking their forces in order to distract from the war against ISIS.
“Erdogan’s enmity towards the SDF also means enmity towards the international Coalition and the Pentagon plan to annihilate ISIS,” said Foza Yousef, co-chair of Syrian Democratic Federation Executive Board, ANHA reported.
Yousef warned that the security situation could deteriorate, giving ISIS the chance to regroup, if Turkey is not stopped.
Ankara considers the YPG a branch of the PKK and has threatened military action against the group. It has already conducted two operations in northern Syria – one west of the Euphrates and one in Afrin.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that preparations were
complete for an offensive east of the Euphrates River.