Syria
The aftermath of a Turkish strike on the Babasi oil facility in the countryside of al-Qahtaniya in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeastern Hasakeh province on October 6, 2023. Delil souleiman/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Dozens of Turkish strikes on vital infrastructure this past week have left more than two million people without water or electricity in northeast Syria (Rojava), the local administration said on Saturday.
“Since the fourth of this month, Turkey has been attacking vital infrastructure in civilian areas, oil and electricity stations, hospitals, water stations, and camps without any international or moral deterrence… Targeting these facilities has left more than two million people without services such as water and electricity,” read a statement of the department of foreign relations of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES).
Turkish drones have hit key infrastructure including the power stations at Rojava (Western) dam, Qamishli, Tirbespi, and Amuda, which supplies electricity for the Alouk water pumping station.
Targeting this infrastructure “constitutes a war crime,” read the statement.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said military operations in Rojava are in retaliation for a terror attack in Ankara.
“Following the terrorist attack that occurred on 1 October 2023, comprehensive operations have been initiated by our Armed Forces and Intelligence Organization against PKK/YPG terrorist targets and infrastructure in Iraq and Syria within the framework of our legitimate rights for self-defense,” read a ministry statement on Friday.
The terror incident the ministry referred to was a bomb attack on the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara. The armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility.
The PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey but is proscribed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkey considers Kurdish-led forces in Rojava - the People’s Defense Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - as Syrian offshoots of the PKK.
SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi has denied any connection between Rojava and the Ankara attack. The “perpetrators haven’t passed through our region as Turkish officials claim, and we aren’t party to Turkey’s internal conflict nor we encourage escalation,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
Abdi accused Turkey of looking for an excuse to launch a new attack on Rojava and urged the international community to prevent any violence, especially Russia and the United States who are guarantors of a 2019 ceasefire deal that ended a Turkish offensive into northeast Syria.
The US state department has urged all sides to respect the terms of the ceasefire.
“It is crucial for all sides to maintain and respect ceasefire zones to enhance stability in Syria and work toward a political solution to the conflict,” spokesperson Matthew Miller told Rudaw in an email on Friday. “The United States remains concerned about military activity in northern Syria, and in particular its impact on the civilian population, including the targeting of civilian infrastructure, and the effectiveness of our operations to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS [Islamic State].”
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