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Syria
People in Derik, Rojava bury the bodies of 11 people killed by Turkey in its latest attacks. Date: November 21, 2022. Photo: Mazloum Abdi/Twitter
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Monday that the latest Turkish military campaign against their forces in northern Syria will be met with a response after the airstrikes killed several people, including civilians.
Turkey launched an aerial operation, code-named Claw-Sword, in the early hours of Sunday, targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas, mostly Sulaimani province, and the SDF in northern Syria. Over a dozen civilians, including a journalist, as well as members of security forces have been killed since the start of the campaign.
“As the people of Rojava know us, the Turkish massacre will not be without a response,” Abdi said in a tweet with footage showing a large crowd of people burying the bodies of 11 civilians killed by Turkey on Sunday.
Elham Ahmed, president of the Executive Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political wing of the SDF, said in a tweet on Monday that 13 civilians have been killed and 14 other injured as a result of Turkish airstrikes since early Sunday.
She warned that the operation will have “catastrophic consequences” on the situation in Syria.
SDF said in a statement on Monday that “We reiterate our pledge that our martyrs’ blood will not be in vain, and our retaliation, this time, will be stronger and more painful.”Peace to our people who rallied today in large crowds in response to the #Turkish_terrorist attacks. We will remain committed to protecting our people, retaliating against all the Turkish terrorist acts. pic.twitter.com/wFUDb0UFxX
— Farhad Shami (@farhad_shami) November 21, 2022
Several SDF fighters have also been killed in the attacks.
Turkey claims that the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backbone of SDF, is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK - an armed group which fights for the increased rights of Kurds but regarded as a terrorist organization by Ankara. The Turkish army has carried out several military operations against these Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, claiming that they pose a threat to its national security.
Ankara has said that its air forces hit 44 YPG targets in Rojava on Sunday.
Turkish officials have repeatedly stated that their only targets are YPG and PKK fighters, adding that they take all necessary measures to avoid civilian casualties.
The latest Turkish operation against YPG comes a few days after a TNT-laden bomb killed six people and injured 81 others. Turkish authorities have blamed the YPG and PKK but both groups have denied any responsibility.
“The Turkish occupation has used the Istanbul blast as a pretext to launch a brutal attack using aircraft on various areas in the north and eastern Syria,” said the SDF in its latest statement on the tensions.
Turkey has stated that the operation is a response to the alleged involvement of both YPG and PKK in the Istanbul blast.
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