Alleged Turkish rocket-propelled grenade injures two in Qamishlo: Observatory

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two members of the internal security forces were injured by a rocket-propelled grenade on Monday morning, allegedly coming from inside Turkish territory, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The shell reportedly hit the Roj Centre in the Old Station neighborhood, adjacent to the Turkish border in the northeastern part of Al-Qamishli city. The incident injured two of the building’s guards, who are members of the Internal Security Forces, also known as Asayish.

According to local media, the two victims were civilians, who were transferred to a hospital in Qamishlo for medical treatment.

After Turkey intervened in northeastern Syria in October 2019, Russia and the United States reached separate ceasefire deals with Ankara that allowed Turkish troops to control the area between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain (Serikaniye). 

Despite the agreements, Turkish-backed groups and the Turkish army itself continue to periodically target areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

In some cases, villagers living in Syrian-Turkish border areas were killed in attacks by the Turkish army and the rebel forces Ankara supports.

On July 16, an alleged Turkish drone strike targeted a military post of the Russian forces in Derbasiyah.

In late June, three Kurdish women’s rights activists were killed in another alleged Turkish drone strike in the city of Kobani.

In May, Turkish border guards allegedly killed a Kurdish farmer in the Deruna Agha village near the town of Girkê Legê (Al-Muabbada in Arabic) on the Syrian-Turkish border.

Thomas McClure, a Syria-based researcher at the Rojava Information Center, told Kurdistan 24 of an increase in ceasefire violations from Turkey’s side.

“Turkey is slowly and steadily increasing the pressure by random acts of violence, targeting civilians and civilian areas along the border. This is a pattern that we’re familiar with,” he stated.

“Of course, these random drone strikes and random shelling are intended to create fear and tension among the local population that fears a new Turkish offensive.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany