Syria
A picture shows a view of the "Free Woman" square in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane on November 20, 2022. Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish strikes targeting Kurdish areas in northern Syria continued on Tuesday, on the same day Russia, Iran, and Turkey issued a joint statement condemning the violation of Syrian sovereignty, including by Israeli attacks, during an ongoing trilateral meeting in Astana.
The representatives of the three countries who are in Astana for talks on Syria said they consider Israeli attacks on the country as “violating the international law, international humanitarian law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.”
In the backdrop of the talks, Turkish artillery struck the Kurdish city of Kobane, causing severe destruction to civilian infrastructure including a hospital, Hawar News Agency (ANHA) reported on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, a Turkish drone strike targeted a base used jointly by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US. A spokesman for the group said that two SDF fighters were killed.
Since the latest surge in hostilities, at least 11 civilians have been killed in the Turkish attacks, according to SDF spokesperson Aram Hanna.
Turkey launched a new aerial military campaign, code-named Operation Claw-Sword, against People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region in the early hours of Sunday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey would launch a ground operation in Syria “when convenient,” as cited by state media. He warned that the aerial incursion was “just the beginning” during a meeting in Ankara of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).
However, in the statement issued with Moscow and Tehran, Ankara reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity” of Syria. There was no mention of Turkish military attacks on Syria in the statement.
The three powers agreed that the stability and security of northeastern Syria would be “achieved on the basis of preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Russia has called on Turkey to exercise restraint and avoid escalation of tensions in Syria.
Kobane was captured by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014 but were driven out by the Kurdish forces allied with the United States. The SDF has been a key US ally throughout the war against ISIS and has received extensive military training from Washington. According to the Rojava Information Center (RIC), around 12,000 SDF fighters were killed in the fight against ISIS.
The statement also condemned what they called the “illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenues that should belong to Syria.” The Syrian foreign affairs ministry has previously accused the US of “stealing Syrian oil” as Washington backs the SDF which is in control of the areas with the main oilfields.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to launch a new military operation in Rojava since May, aimed at creating a 30 kilometers deep “safe zone.”
Syria and Russia - the main backer of the regime in Damascus - had both called on Turkey to refrain from launching an operation in the country’s northeast, calling it a violation of Syrian sovereignty. However, Moscow has been distracted by its war in Ukraine.
In an interview with Al Monitor, General Commander of the SDF Mazloum Abdi said that Turkish threats are being taken seriously and “unless there is a serious effort to deter Turkey, especially on the part of the United States and Russia” to deter them, escalation is imminent.
The US has also condemned the recent strikes and has urged for de-escalation but Abdi argues these statements are not strong enough in comparison to Turkish threats.
“If there is a ground invasion it will be because such permission was accorded or because [Russia and the United States] chose to remain silent,” he added.
In the same statement, the countries also condemned Israeli attacks on Syria. Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on regime-controlled areas of Syria throughout its 11-year civil war, often claiming to target Iran-affiliated militias, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah group which supports the Syrian army.
Dozens of rocket attacks have been conducted by Israel in Syria since the start of the year.
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