Civilians killed, children wounded in northeastern Syria by Turkish-backed shelling: SDF
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Shelling by Turkish-backed militias outside the northeastern Syrian city of Tal Tamir on Tuesday evening killed three civilians and wounded several others, including children, according to a statement by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“The Turkish bombing… has claimed the lives of 3 citizens,” the SDF Press Center wrote, identifying those killed as Malika Ahmed al-Eid (30), her mother, Fasla al-Eid (60), and the third listed only as Salih Hamid, all from the same village.
Several other civilians were injured as well, it continued, including three siblings aged four, eight, and 11 in another village that was also targeted.
The SDF claimed that the Turkish army and armed groups supported by Ankara shelled the villages of Umm al-Kif, Rabi'at, and al-Asadiya, as well as areas in the vicinity of Zirgan (also known as Abu Rasein), north of Tal Tamir.
Additionally, the group reported that three members of the Syrian army were also injured and taken to a hospital near Tal Tamir and also that three members of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), killed by SDF shelling that was fired in response.
Moreover, the statement added that Turkish drones flew over the area during the shelling.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also confirmed that three civilians were killed, including a woman and her child due to “Turkish bombardments” on villages in the countryside of Hasakah province, where Tal Tamir is located.
After Turkey conducted a cross-border attack into northeastern Syria in October 2019, Russia and the US reached separate ceasefire deals with Ankara, allowing Turkish troops to control the area between Tal Abyad and Serekaniye.
Despite such agreements, Turkish-backed groups and the Turkish army itself continue to target SDF-held areas periodically. In some cases, as occurred on Tuesday, villagers living in Syrian-Turkish border areas were killed in attacks by the Turkish military and the other armed groups.
On Sunday, SOHR reported that Turkish forces in Bab al-Khair and Da’oudiyah bases fired heavy artillery shells on Zirgan.
As a result, some residents of the town fled toward the countryside and the northern outskirts of the city.
