Turkish-SDF clashes near Tal Tamer lead to more displacement: NGO
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – In recent months, the Newroz camp in Syria's Al-Hasakeh Governorate has seen a large influx of people due to the increase in clashes in the Tal Tamr sub-district, a non-governmental organization (NGO) reported on Wednesday.
"The camp population has more than doubled since the most recent REACH camp profiling exercise conducted in March 2021," the NGO REACH said in its report.
The majority of the camp's inhabitants are from Serekaniye, also known as Ras al-Ayn, (75%), while the rest come from Tal Tamer (25%). The camp reportedly had 2,417 new arrivals in recent months—only 274 left in the same period.
According to UNICEF, the Kurdish Self Administration reopened the Newroz camp, located near the Iraqi border, on October 24, 2019, after a wave of civilians were displaced from Tal Abyad and Serekaniye by Turkey's cross-border military offensive that month.
The Turkish military has recently intensified its use of airstrikes, drone strikes, and artillery bombardments against areas controlled by the Kurdish-run Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Areas near Tal Tamer have been the worst affected by these strikes. Earlier this week, Turkish-backed forces shelled the Assyrian villages of Tel Shanan and Tel Jumaa, the local ANHA news agency reported.
On August 24, the local North Press Agency reported that 45 displaced families from the Tal Tamr area, which is subjected to frequent Turkish bombardments, arrived at Newroz camp near the city of Derik in northeastern Syria.
There are now fears that Turkey will launch another offensive operation against the SDF after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned earlier this month that Turkey would eliminate all "threats" in northern Syria after a guided missile attack killed two Turkish military police officers in Syria's Azaz region.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Turkey deployed hundreds of additional troops in northern Syria for a possible attack on the SDF.
On October 21, the United States called on all parties to respect existing ceasefires after a Turkish drone targeted a vehicle in the northern Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani. On October 23, a Turkish drone again targeted another vehicle in Kobani.