Four SDF members killed in Turkish bombardment

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) were killed in a Turkish bombardment in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Thursday, the SDF has said, amid a recent increase in Turkish attacks on the region.

At 6 pm, the Turkish army “carried out an aerial attack on Tel Tamir’s Military Council base, killing four of our comrades, wounding others and causing material damage to civilian houses,” the SDF said in a statement.

“We will not stand idly by in the face of these attacks,” it added.

Turkey's attacks on northern Syria have escalated recently. It bombarded Hasaka’s Zarkan district late Tuesday, killing a four-year-old child and a woman. Scores of civilians were also injured.

On Wednesday, thirteen rockets hit Afrin city centre, killing three people and injuring four others. The governor’s office of neighbouring Turkey’s Hatay province blamed the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, for the offensive.

The YPG, which denied involvement in the attack, is considered by Ankara to be the Syrian extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which is named a terrorist group in Turkey.

In October 2019, Turkey launched an offensive against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria. Ceasefires were brokered by Moscow and Washington, but the truces are frequently violated.

Late last year, there were frequent clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian militias and Kurdish forces, with casualties on both sides and among the civilian population. At the end of December, Russia deployed additional troops to keep the peace.

Earlier this month, a father and his three children were killed in a Turkish bombing near Ain Issa. Another child was killed in Turkish shelling in March.