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Children were the main victims of Monday's shelling. Photo: Social media
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Turkey and its Syrian proxies shelled the town of Tel Rifaat in northwest Syria on Monday afternoon, killing at least eight children and an old man, according to a local Kurdish leader.
About 21 others were wounded in the shelling.
At least 10 civilians were killed in Monday’s attack on Tel Rifaat, according to local media. It is the latest in a spate of attacks by the pro-Turkey militiamen against Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-controlled areas.
Turkey and some of its affiliated militia groups in Syria launched Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria on October 9. The operation seeks to drive out the SDF in the region, where Turkey plans to resettle millions of Syrians who fled to Turkey since the civil war began in 2011.
Angela Rasho, co-leader of Kurdish Red Crescent in Afrin, told Rudaw TV that "Some of the injured are in a very serious condition and [have been] taken to Aleppo," adding that the town is still under shelling.
She also said that they suffer from medicine and medical team shortages.
Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish official in northeast Syria, said in a tweet that at least 10 other civilians were injured in the attack on the town, home to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Almost all of the dead are children, she added.
Ahmed shared a graphic video which purportedly shows a number of dead children covered with black blankets.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported the attack, putting the civilian death toll at eight children and an elderly man.
Ibrahim Shekho of the Afrin Human Rights Organisation told Rojava Information Center that a woman was also among the dead.
There was no immediate statement from Turkey’s defense ministry on the incident.
Located in the northwestern province of Aleppo, the town of Tel Rifaat is home to thousands of Kurdish people who fled from Afrin and its surroundings after the Turkish army and its Syrian proxies invaded it in March 2018. Around 150,000 people fled to Tel Rifaat, Nabul, Zahra and Fafin areas, according to a UN report.
“A year and a half later, the IDPs from Afrin district remain in precarious conditions in destroyed dwellings or in IDP sites. They live with a fear of retaliation and with their movement between Aleppo city and Afrin restricted,” read the report, issued on August 7 of this year.
Bakir Alu, co-leader of the Executive Council of Afrin in charge of the area before it was invaded, condemned the attack.
“This bombing reflects the brutality of the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries … We condemn this bombing and call on the world to condemn it,” reported SDF-affiliated ANHA news outlet.
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