Sunday marked the third anniversary of Turkey’s offensive against the SDF in northern Syria which led to the invasion of the Kurdish towns of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad). The SDF said on Wednesday that Ankara continues violating the ceasefire it separately signed with Americans and Russians at the time.
The SDF also identified five of its fighters who were killed during Turkey’s attacks, supported by its Syrian mercenaries, in Ain Issa town which borders Sari Kani and Gire Spi between Sunday and Wednesday.
“The Turkish occupation state and its mercenaries are still launching daily attacks and attacks on various regions of northern and eastern Syria, using various types of weapons, including drones, targeting infrastructure and civilian homes, as well as fighters stationed at their military points,” read a statement by the SDF.
Turkey has claimed that it has killed a number of SDF forces in Syria in recent days but it is not clear if they included the five fighters announced dead by the SDF.
Turkey claims that the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backbone of the SDF, is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers the PKK and YPG terrorist organizations.
Turkey and its Syrian mercenaries have carried out two major military operations against the SDF in northern Syria since 2018.
