ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s bombardment of Derik town in northeast Syria (Rojava) in recent days is the declaration of war against the Kurdish forces, said Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), late Wednesday.
Turkey announced Winter Eagle Air Operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Iraq’s Shingal and Makhmour towns and against the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Rojava’s Derik town early Wednesday. The Turkish army targeted both forces in these areas late Tuesday, killing several civilians in Makhmour camp.
The YPG is the backbone of the US-allied SDF.
“Turkish bombardment of Ain Diwar and Derik has resulted in the martyrdom of civilians and fighters and also hit public infrastructure, including a water dam and power station,” Abdi said in a tweet. “This attack amounts to a declaration of war, endangers civilians, and undermines our fight against ISIS [Islamic State].”
“With the rising threat of terrorism, our Coalition partners bear a large part of the responsibility to prevent such Turkish attacks,” noted the commander.
SDF said in a statement earlier in the day that Turkey’s bombardment of Derik on Tuesday killed four of its members and wounded five civilians.
“It is pretty obvious that the attacks of the Turkish occupation state were not conducted without the knowledge of the international coalition forces. Therefore, the Turkish occupation state, through the silence of the international coalition forces, seeks to legitimize its attacks and shell our people, our villages, and our infrastructures with its employees,” it said.
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