ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations on Saturday expressed concern over the surge in hostilities targeting northern Syria and called for de-escalation in the region following a spate of attacks that claimed the lives of dozens of civilians.
"These terrible tragedies once again show that civilians, many of them women and children, continue to suffer the effects of ongoing hostilities in parts of Syria," read a statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"We urge all parties to take all feasible measures to minimize harm to civilians and abide by their obligations to protect civilians," the statement added.
A deadly drone attack attributed to Turkey targeted a UN-funded girls' special education center in Hasaka province, northeast Syria (Rojava) on Thursday, killing four children and injuring 11 others. The attack was condemned by the US-led coalition, who added that the targeted area was only two kilometers away from their base.
Ankara has recently upped its attacks against Kurdish forces in northern Syria, sending alarming threats of a looming operation targeting the region.
The operation is aimed at expelling Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) from the region, who Turkey considers the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and considers both groups as terrorist organizations.
The YPG is the backbone of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The UN statement also condemned an attack on a market in the Turkish-occupied city of al-Bab on Friday, which killed 13 civilians including five children and injured a further 38 people.
The US has repeatedly called for "immediate de-escalation" in northern Syria, expressing concern over the upcoming Turkish offensive potentially setting back years of progress made in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
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