ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Heavy Turkish bombardment targeted northern Syria’s Mabij city overnight, its military council said on Friday, days after Turkey said it was clearing the area from “terrorists.”
Dozens of shells targeted villages and district Manbij in an offensive that started on late Thursday evening and continued until the morning hours of Friday, according to Manbij Military Council.
The council stated that the number of shells reached 120 and counting, but it did not report any casualties.
The recent bombardments come after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said Ankara was clearing Tal Rifaat and Manbij from “terrorists,” as a part of its new military operation in northern Syria.
Last week he hinted at a new military operation into northern Syria to create a 30 kilometre “security zone” along its southern border. It is presumably aimed to push back Kurdish fighters from the area.
Farhad Shami, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces' media office on Friday said Ankara had bombarded Tinnab village south of Afrin in northwest Syria, injuring one child and killing dozens of livestock.
The United Nations on Thursday urged all parties to “exercise maximum restraint” in Syria.
Turkey has launched two offensives against Kurdish fighters in Syria since 2018. It alleges that the fighters are allied with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and is viewed as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
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