Violent clashes near the town of Ain Issa

Turkish air strikes on a Kurdish region in Syria for the first time in 17 months

A man stands amid the rubble in front of the entrance to the hospital, which was bombed in the city of Atarib.

A.F.B.

Turkish warplanes launched raids on an area controlled by Kurdish forces in northern Syria, the first in 17 months, and violent clashes took place yesterday between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the one hand, and the Turkish forces and their loyal factions on the other hand, near the strategic town of Ain Issa .

Turkish forces and allied factions have deployed north of the town of Ain Issa in the northern countryside of Raqqa, since an attack it launched against the Kurdish fighters, in October 2019, during which they took control of a wide border area, and clashes between the two parties, north of the town under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which were It is headquartered.

The escalation in the vicinity of Ain Issa coincided with the Kurdish celebration of Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the clashes erupted after the Turkish forces and their loyal factions attempted to advance in the villages of Al-Muallaq and Sidon, northwest of the town of Ain Issa, after the Syrian Democratic Forces had finished dismantling mines in the two villages in preparation for the return of civilians.

A spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, Keno Kabriel, told «AFP»: “The Ain Issa area is under a severe campaign by the Turkish forces and their loyalists, by attempting to advance towards villages west of Ain Issa,” and indicated that the operations were accompanied by heavy mortar shelling. And Turkish artillery and warplanes.

Kabriel asserted that "the Syrian Democratic Forces have responded to the violations and foiled infiltration attempts, but the situation is still tense in the vicinity of Ain Issa."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Turkish warplanes launched a raid targeting the village of Sidon, the first in that area since the 2019 attack.

The director of the observatory, Rami Abdul-Rahman, stated that "the Syrian Democratic Forces were able to prevent any advance of the pro-Ankara factions," referring to an exchange of bombing between the two parties.

Ankara classifies the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces, as a "terrorist organization" and considers them an extension of the PKK, which is fighting an insurgency against it.

The Syrian Democratic Forces are Washington's main partner in the war against the terrorist organization "ISIS", which has long aroused criticism from Ankara.

Tomorrow coincides with the anniversary of those forces ’declaration of the elimination of ISIS, following the last battles against it, with US support, in the town of Al-Baghouz, in eastern Syria.

The clashes are repeated from time to time in the vicinity of Ain Issa, despite the deployment of forces in Damascus, in accordance with an agreement with the Kurds, the aim of which was to stop the Turkish advance, following the 2019 attack, and there are also Russian forces there, according to an agreement reached with Ankara, after It took control of a border area north of Ain Issa, extending 120 kilometers, between the towns of Ras al-Ain (north of Hasaka) and Tal Abyad (north of Raqqa).

Last November, more than 20 members of the pro-Ankara factions were killed in an ambush by the Syrian Democratic Forces, after they tried to infiltrate the village of Al-Muallaq.

In addition, the Syrian Observatory said yesterday that five civilians were killed by artillery shelling of a hospital in the city of Atarib in northwestern Syria. The Observatory accused the Syrian army of launching the attack, while Reuters quoted medics as saying that seven civilians were killed, and 14 workers were wounded. In the medical sector, at least in artillery shelling, and the Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that the bombing was launched by forces supported by the Syrian government, and on the other hand, the Syrian News Agency (SANA) said that dead and wounded, including children, were killed as a result of shells fired by the Turkish-backed factions in the western countryside of Aleppo, targeting my neighborhood Righteous and Paradise.

The World Health Organization counted 337 attacks on medical facilities in northwest Syria between 2016 and 2019.

According to the United Nations, 70% of health care workers have fled during the years of conflict.

On the other hand, witnesses and sources said that Russian aircraft carried out raids on areas close to towns in Idlib, northwestern Syria, controlled by Turkish-backed factions.

• dead and wounded in an artillery bombardment targeting a hospital in northwestern Syria.

• The Syrian Democratic Forces announce that they have stopped the Turkish infiltration attempts.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news