Two civilians killed in Turkish artillery attack on northern Syria

July 5. () –

At least two civilians died on Monday in an artillery attack carried out by the Turkish Army against a town in northern Syria, as reported by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The FDS have indicated in a statement published on their website that the attack was carried out against the town of Ain Issa and have added that two other civilians were injured, without Ankara having ruled on what happened.

“The Turkish occupation and its mercenaries – in reference to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels – attack the homes of civilians almost daily, causing casualties among them,” they lamented.

At the beginning of June, the United Nations called on the Government of Turkey to “maximum containment” after the announcement by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, about the beginning of “a new phase” in the Turkish military offensive in northern Syria against the Kurdish militia Popular Protection Units (YPG), the main member of the SDF.

Erdogan stressed that this “new phase” will focus on the cities of Tel Rifat and Manbij. “We are entering a new phase of our decision to establish a safe zone 30 kilometers south (of the border between Turkey and Syria),” he said, before adding that the aforementioned towns will be “cleansed of terrorists” and criticizing that the United States The United States and Russia have not fulfilled their commitments to guarantee a buffer zone on the border.

Turkey considers the YPG to be the Syrian affiliate of the armed group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with a presence in Turkey. The YPG are in turn the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), key in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.