Thousands of civilians flee Turkish attacks despite ceasefire deal

Heavy attacks on Wednesday by Turkish-backed groups near Dirbasiya and Til Tamr displaced thousands of civilians despite the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreed to last week.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Heavy attacks on Wednesday by Turkish-backed groups near Dirbasiya and Til Tamr displaced thousands of civilians despite the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreed to last week.

“There is a cease-fire agreement in place, which requires SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] to withdraw and Turkish army to stop aggression,” Mustafa Bali, the head of SDF’s press office tweeted.

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) reported thousands of civilians had fled toward Hasakah city amid ongoing Turkish attacks. “The Villages of Dirbasiya and Til Tamr are still being heavily attacked, even the ones in which we handed over positions to SAA [Syrian Arab Army],” Bali added.

Yesterday, the Syrian army sent more forces to Dirbasiya and Kobani to fill the vacuum left behind after the withdrawal of the SDF from the border.

However, several Syrian government forces were killed and captured by Turkish-backed forces during clashes near Til Tamr.

According to a Russian-Turkish deal reached last week at the resort city of Sochi following Turkey’s cross-border incursion, Kurdish forces were supposed to withdraw after a 150-hour deadline that expired Tuesday night.

On Tuesday, the Russian Minister of Defence declared a complete withdrawal of Kurdish forces from “safe zones” in northern Syria as the ceasefire expired. On Wednesday, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced that Turkish-Russian joint patrols in Syria were scheduled to start on Friday. 

Turkish attacks, however, have not stopped despite Russian and Turkish promises.

“It’s clear that Turkey has no intention of halting attacks. Russia, US are responsible for bloodshed and displacement of thousands of civilians who are now fleeing their homes in Til Tamr,” the SDF official argued.

The attacks followed the withdrawal of Syrian army forces from fronts around Til Tamr, Dirbesiye, and Amude, which might indicate Russia was not satisfied with US troops staying in the oil-rich region of Deir al-Zor.

According to Nicholas A. Heras, a Middle East security analyst at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security, Russia is “acting in bad faith and will allow Turkey to continue to expand as a message to the SDF and the United States that Moscow calls the shots in Syria and that Trump cannot hold Syrian oil with the support of the SDF.”

He also warned Turkey is not satisfied with a limited enclave it earlier seized during its attacks on the SDF in northeast Syria.

According to earlier ceasefire deals between both the US and Turkey, and between Russia and Turkey, Turkey is allowed to keep this area between Tal Abyad and Ras al Ain (Serekaniye).

“The Turkish policy is to control the entire length of the border from the Euphrates to the Tigris,” Heras said.

Thomas McClure, a Syria-based researcher at the Rojava Information Center, agreed that “Turkey seeks to advance outside the ceasefire lines agreed between Ankara and Moscow.”

“The SDF withdrew from these fronts to allow SAA [Syrian Arab Army] units to take their place, as part of their agreed withdrawal from the border zone: but Turkey has failed to observe the ceasefire, killing many SAA soldiers as it pushes forwards.”

He said that it now appears Russia is failing to play its guarantor role in preventing further Turkish violations.

“More civilians are being displaced in the ongoing violence, and it appears neither Turkey nor Russia are interested in bringing an end to this humanitarian disaster.”

Editing by Nadia Riva