Exclusive from Afrin: Turkish military strikes schools, mosques in Syria

The Turkish military has shelled several villages in Syria’s Kurdish-run northwest region of Afrin, destroying schools and mosques.
kurdistan24.net

AFRIN, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish military has shelled several villages in Syria’s Kurdish-run northwest region of Afrin, destroying schools and mosques, civilians there said on Monday.

In a village called Jeleme in the countryside of Afrin, civilians told Kurdistan 24 a Turkish military airstrike destroyed a school in their village.

“There is random shelling and bombardment every day, although we are all civilians here,” said a villager. “There is nothing military here.”

Only a few houses were left standing in the village which people are now using as shelters.

In Jandaris town west of Afrin, near the Turkish border, civilians told Kurdistan 24 that an airstrike destroyed a mosque in the town.

People in the town confirmed that there are only civilians there, but it is shelled every day.

“There is nothing military here,” said a roughly 25-year-old man.

He pointed to a neighborhood that was recently bombarded.

“The neighborhood over there was struck yesterday, four houses were entirely destroyed, and all the people there and livestock were killed,” he said.

He added that the town was shelled every day although there are no military points there.

Last week, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a monitoring group in the war-torn country which traces the conflict on the ground, announced that Turkish artillery and warplanes destroyed another mosque in Raju town.

“The Turkish military destroyed archeological sites dating back more than 1,400 years and demolished the Salahaddin Mosque in the town of Raju, all while Turkish president [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan claims he defends Muslims,” the SOHR statement read.

About two weeks ago, Turkey launched an air and ground offensive in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), targeting the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and their all-female brigade, the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), in the Afrin region.

With the ongoing operation, the Turkish military is attempting to control the mountains around Afrin, and then enter the city.

Despite the heavy bombardment on the region, the Turkish army and their allies of Syrian rebels have not achieved any advancement.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Reporting in Kurdish by Kurdistan 24 correspondent Akram Salih from Jandaris)