Child killed, 5 others wounded in fighting near northern Syrian city of Ain Issa, SDF says

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – One child was killed and five other civilians injured in shelling on Friday by Turkish-backed forces in the northern Syrian city of Ain Issa, according to an official from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Civilian settlements in vicinity of Ain Issa are again in target of Turkey’s proxies at the moment. Shelling has killed a kid and wounded several civilians. Turkish attacks are again endangering civilian lives and infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/9qbSFhRSgN

— Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) March 19, 2021

Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF press office in northeast Syria, wrote in a post on Twitter that “civilian settlements in vicinity of Ain Issa are again in target of Turkey’s proxies at the moment.”

“Shelling has killed a kid and wounded several civilians. Turkish attacks are again endangering civilian lives and infrastructure,” he added.

According to the local Hawar News Agency (ANHA) at least five civilians were wounded in the attack. In response, it continued, the SDF shelled a Turkish military base near the villages of Saida and al-Mushairfeh.

The Turkish army then reportedly shelled positions of Syrian government forces in and around Ain Issa.

Video showing heavy Turkish shelling of Ain Issa. https://t.co/YObplzsbnj

— Wladimir (@vvanwilgenburg) March 19, 2021

The town of Ain Issa has recently seen heavy fighting between the SDF and Turkish-backed forces.

The SDF Press Center said on Thursday that fighting took place on Tuesday and Wednesday around the Ain Issa countryside in Raqqa province. During the fighting, it added, three Syrian opposition fighters were killed.

On Oct. 19, 2019, after a long-threatened Turkish military incursion into northeast Syria to confront Kurdish elements of the SDF, the US first mediated a ceasefire agreement between Turkey and the SDF. A second such agreement, brokered by Russia, followed on Oct. 22.

Yet despite the agreements, Turkey-backed groups and the Turkish army itself continue to target SDF-held areas.

According to the local Hawar News Agency (ANHA) at least nine civilians were killed and 16 injured this week during attacks by the opposition groups in the vicinity of Ain Issa.

Recently, there has been an increase in attacks by Turkish-backed militias near the city of Manbij, also resulting in the death of multiple civilians.

The Russian Ministry of Defense-affiliated Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria on Tuesday expressed worries about the establishment of a fifth Turkish military base that was created near Ain al Issa.

Senior Syrian Kurdish officials have regularly called on Russia and the US to pressure Turkey to abide by the earlier ceasefire agreements.

Editing by John J. Catherine