The Turkish forces and the pro-Ankara “Syrian National Army” factions renewed their artillery shelling on the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Hasakah countryside, from their positions in the area known as the “Peace Spring” in northeastern Syria.
On Thursday, the Turkish forces and the factions bombed the villages of Aboush and al-Sheikh in the countryside of Tal Tamr, in addition to the villages in the Abu Rasin countryside, northwest of Hasakah, which lie on the contact lines between the two sides.
The Turkish forces and the “National Army” factions bombed many SDF sites in northeastern Syria with artillery, while the Turkish drone strikes escalated.
urgent | A Turkish march targets a car on the Qamishli-Amouda road near the Ali Four road junction in areas of control #SDF Northeastern Syria. pic.twitter.com/qVGnMZlDfW
— Ivan Hassib (@Ivan_Hassib) August 3, 2023
Last Saturday, 3 civilians were injured, of varying degrees, in artillery shelling on the village of Tal al-Laban and the town of Tal Tamr, northwest of al-Hasakah, within the areas controlled by the SDF and the Syrian army.
The contact axes between the Turkish forces and the “National Army” factions, the SDF and the Syrian government forces in Aleppo witnessed a major escalation, which resulted in the killing and wounding of a number of Syrian soldiers and members of the factions.
The villages of “Zouq Kabir” and “Kaluta”, which belong to the Sherawa district in the countryside of Afrin, north of Aleppo, were subjected to artillery shelling from the areas controlled by the Turkish forces and the “National Army”.
Turkish artillery and marches bombed SDF sites in north and northeastern Syria, in response to the killing of members of the National Army.
On Thursday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said that “terrorist organizations,” referring to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the largest component of the SDF, continue to attack civilians and military units in northern Syria.
A spokesman for the ministry said, “As of last January 1, terrorist organizations have carried out 83 attacks and harassment in our areas of operations in northern Syria, and the number of terrorists who have been eliminated has reached 699.”
The Turkish Minister of Defense inspects the border with Syria from a post at point zero last May (Turkish Ministry of Defense)
Regarding illegal border crossings into Turkey, the spokesman said that thanks to additional effective measures, this year 4,468 people, including 347 terrorists, who tried to illegally cross Turkey’s borders were arrested since the beginning of the year, and 132,000 people were prevented before crossing the border.
Turkey has been carrying out operations to combat illegal immigration for more than two months at the borders and inside cities, especially Istanbul.
This period witnessed the deportation of more than 16,000 out of 36,000 illegal immigrants who were arrested and placed in deportation centers, according to what the Turkish Ministry of Interior announced. Over the past two days, it has deported about 250 Syrians to Idlib through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.
Activists accuse Turkey of carrying out forced deportations of Syrian refugees, but its authorities have confirmed that no person who does not violate the conditions of temporary protection or residence will be deported.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that his country is working on a plan to return about a million Syrian refugees to their country, in a voluntary and safe manner, and to create the necessary conditions for that in the areas that its forces have cleared in northern Syria.
In the same context, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller announced that his country does not see that Turkey’s plan to return a million displaced people to northern Syria aims to change the demographics of Afrin, north of Aleppo, in response to accusations by Kurdish leaders in northern Syria of Turkey deliberately making a change. The demographics of Afrin, which its forces and loyal factions took control of in 2018.
Miller expressed his thanks to Turkey and the host communities for their generous support to about 3.7 million refugees, including about 3.3 million Syrians in Turkey.
In statements reported by Turkish and Kurdish media, on Thursday, he stated that the United States “does not oppose individual voluntary return, but conditions in Syria today do not allow for organized return on a large scale.”
He stressed the need to respect the rights of all Syrians, including the housing, land and property rights of those who remain in Syria and those who have been displaced, adding that the United States “encourages all parties to act in a manner that promotes peaceful coexistence and respect for human rights.”
2023-08-03 23:01:15
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