Politics

US calls on all parties to respect ceasefire in Syria

"We call on all parties to respect existing ceasefires, focus on immediate de-escalation, and above all to protect civilian lives."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2021/10/21 15:48

Destruction following the Syrian government shelling in Idlib, northwestern Syria, Sept. 8, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

Syria Syria Ceasefire US Russia

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United States denounced on Thursday the recent upsurge in violence and attacks in Syria on Wednesday.

The United States deplores the October 20 upsurge in violence and attacks in #Syria. We call on all parties to respect existing ceasefires, focus on immediate de-escalation, and above all to protect civilian lives.
— U.S. Embassy Syria (@USEmbassySyria) October 21, 2021

“We call on all parties to respect existing ceasefires, focus on immediate de-escalation, and above all to protect civilian lives,” the US Embassy Syria tweeted.

The statement came after a Turkish drone attacked a vehicle in the northern Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani on Wednesday afternoon, reportedly killing two people.

The drone strike injured a sixteen-year-old boy and the co-chair of the Euphrates Region Justice Commission, Bakr Jarada, according to the Syria-based Rojava Information Centre (RIC).

The Turkish military has recently intensified its air, artillery, and drone strikes in areas under the control of the Kurdish-run Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned last week that Turkey would eliminate all “threats” in northern Syria, describing a guided missile attack that killed two Turkish military police officers in Syria's Azaz region as "the final straw."

Moreover, Russian and Syrian government forces have also intensified airstrikes and shelling on rebel-held areas in the last few weeks.

On Wednesday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that at least 11 civilians were killed and 35 injured in the rebel-held northwestern Syrian city of Ariha by a rocket attack carried out by Syrian government forces.

Also on Wednesday, 13 people were killed and three wounded in two roadside bombs targeting a bus at the President's Bridge in Syria's capital Damascus.