Erdogan’s campaign against YPG
Turkish military shells Kobane
11/23/2022 3:51 am
Turkey continues its attacks against Kurds in Syria. In the city of Asas, five people die from rocket attacks. Kobane is under constant artillery fire.
According to activists, two days after the start of the Turkish military offensive, five civilians were killed in northwestern Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the city of Asas, which is controlled by Syrian rebels allied with Turkey, was shelled with rockets on Tuesday. Five people were killed, including a child. Three other people were injured.
Turkey launched a long-planned military offensive against Kurdish units in northern Syria on Sunday. The airstrikes were directed against bases of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the YPG, which Turkey sees as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK. On the other hand, the United States and other countries are supporting the YPG, which played a major role in expelling the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia from Syria.
On Tuesday evening, the northern Syrian city of Kobane, a YPG stronghold, was under sustained artillery fire. Turkish drones also attacked a small oil field near the border town of al-Kahtaniya. Earlier, a Turkish drone strike hit a base in northeastern Syria used by both Kurdish units and a US-led coalition, the Kurds and the observatory said. According to the SDF military alliance led by Kurdish units, two SDF fighters were killed. US soldiers were not in danger, according to the US Army Central Command (Centcom).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously threatened a ground offensive in Syria. As a result, both Russia and the United States called for restraint. Ankara justifies the attacks with the bomb attack on Istanbul’s Istikal shopping street on Sunday a week ago. Turkey blames the YPG and PKK for this. Both have firmly denied the allegations.