Turkey conducts heavy air, artillery attacks on N Syria

In the latest attacks on areas in northern Syria, Turkey targeted the village of Sheikh Isa and some military positions in the east of the city of  Tall Rifat in the north of Aleppo province with artillery and airstrikes.

According to the report, Turkish artillery and air attacks on areas in Tall Rifat city have been the most intense wave of attacks since the beginning of Turkish military operations in northern Syria.

These attacks came as the Turkish forces and their affiliated militias targeted the suburbs of al-Hasaka province in the northwest of Syria with artillery attacks on Sunday.

During the past few hours, Turkish forces targeted the areas of Tal al-Leban and Al-Kozliyeh in the west of Al-Hasakah province with artillery attacks in which some damage was caused to infrastructure and residential buildings.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched three military operations inside Syria to target the United States-backed militants, known as the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Ankara accuses the YPG of being associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been fighting a separatist war against Ankara for decades.

The Turkish military’s presence and operations violate the Arab country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials have said Damascus reserved the right to respond to Turkey’s ongoing offensive through all legitimate means available.

Since November 20, the Turkish army has intensified its air and artillery attacks on the northern regions of Syria leaving many civilians killed or wounded.

Ankara demands the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters to a distance of 30 kilometers from the border security zone created by Turkish troops in 2019. Otherwise, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to conduct a new ground operation in northern Syria.

SKH/ 5652866