The Turkish bombings this Thursday in the province of Al Hasaka, an area controlled by the coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias Syrian Democratic Forces (FSD), have left at least seven dead, all workers in factories.
Since dawn, Turkish forces have been attacking various areas of the Syrian Kurdish autonomous administration, in response to an attack on the Turkish Interior Ministry in Ankara on Sunday. The events were claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a guerrilla that the Turkish government links with some groups of the FSD coalition. Two police officers were injured and the two perpetrators of the attack died instantly.
After Sunday’s event, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that all structures of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), one of the main components of the FSD, were becoming targets of the Turkish army. The YPG responded with a statement stating that “the Turkish minister’s statements amounted to a declaration of war.” While the Kurdish autonomous administration called on the international community and Russia to take positions capable of deterring Turkey.
Fidan also claimed that Sunday’s suicide bombing had been orchestrated by two PKK members who had received training in Syria. On the other hand, the Turkish chancellor’s words were denied by Mazlum Abdi, commander of the FSD, who denied that those responsible came from his territory and accused Turkey of looking for “pretexts” to attack the regions dominated by the Syrian Kurdish.
This morning’s Turkish military raids targeted two factories, where the deaths of the seven workers occurred, as well as other civilian and military targets, said Farhad Chami of the SDF.
It seems that Turkish aggression is going for a long time. Ankara does not rule out deploying a ground operation on Syrian soil. With “the sole objective of eliminating terrorist organizations that pose a threat to Turkey,” a spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced today in Ankara. “A ground operation is not the only option” and “there are many courses of action to capture targets with military methods,” he added.
The Turkish army has killed 37 Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and northern Syria in the last week, the spokesman said. So far this year, they have neutralized some 1,388 Kurdish rebels.
