Two Syrian government soldiers killed, several injured in Turkish bombardment on northeast Syria
QAMISHLI (Kurdistan 24) – Two Syrian government soldiers were killed on Thursday and several injured in shelling by Turkish-backed groups on the northern countryside of Hasakah province near the border with Turkey, local sources told Kurdistan 24.
A civilian was also killed in addition to the two Syrian soldiers, while six troops were wounded in artillery shelling by Turkish-backed groups, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), on the villages of Abosh and Qabr in the eastern countryside of Serekaniye, which the SNA occupied in October.
The injured soldiers were transferred to a hospital in Tal Tamir town, about 30 kilometers south of Serekaniye, sources from the hospital told Kurdistan 24.
“In addition to the injured soldiers, there were several civilians wounded in the shelling and dozens of families were displaced south to Hasakah city to flee the ongoing bombardment by Turkish-backed groups until the moment,” the source added.
During this week, Turkish-backed groups bombarded several areas in northern Syria amid a UN ceasefire appeal and also the ceasefire the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced to stop the spread of coronavirus.
On Wednesday, four civilians were injured in the shelling by Turkish-backed groups on the eastern countryside of Serekaniye.
The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration has taken several precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, such as closing border crossings, shutting down public places, and announcing an indefinite curfew on March 19.
The SDF leadership has urged all actors in Syria to refrain from military actions and make an immediate commitment to a humanitarian truce.
In its statement, the SDF underlined that its fighters would only defend themselves and against outside attacks and would avoid engaging in military actions.
Making things worse, Turkish-backed armed groups repeatedly cut off the water supply to Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria, putting hundreds of thousands of civilians – whose available health services are already severely degraded by almost a decade of civil war – at extreme risk amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The water station, located in the eastern countryside of Serekaniye, is the major source of water residents use in multiple surrounding areas, including Hasakah, Tal Tamir, and both the al-Hol and al-Arishah displacement camps.
Turkish-backed groups have repeatedly cut off the supply since the start of the year, expelling workers from the station as leverage to demand that Kurdish-led local authorities in northeast Syria provide increased electricity to areas under their control before allowing the water to flow again. The latest interruption was on Sunday.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany