Turkish forces enter Rojava

The Turkish forces crossed their southern border to Syria on Wednesday. They entered the villages of Sarimsakh and Banokiya, east of Qamishli in Rojava (Western Kurdistan) without clashing with Asayish forces.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – The Turkish forces crossed their southern border to Syria on Wednesday. They entered the villages of Sermisax and Banokiya, east of Qamishli in Rojava (Western Kurdistan) without clashing with Asayish forces.

People of Sermisax told a K24 reporter that brigades of Turkish infantry reached the outskirts of the village with bulldozers and tractors, crossed one-kilometer and reached Tel Efrit Hills north of the village without any clashes with the Asayish. Asayish is the official security organization of the autonomous administration in Rojava.

According to Sermisax residents, the Turkish forces composed of about 200 soldiers who settled on the outskirts of the village. They noted that the Turkish army, reinforced by heavy weapons, fortified its intruding force by digging trenches along the border overlooking the village.

Residents told K24 reporter that the purpose of this act was to take over the hill for its strategic position, which will enable the Turkish forces to control the areas inside the Syrian territory.

Today, most of the residents have moved to the border in a mass procession to negotiate with the Turkish authorities represented by border guards.

K24 reporter said that the meeting between both sides lasted for about two hours, and discussions are to be completed tomorrow to settle the matter between the residents and the Turkish army.

Sources in the other village Banokiya told K24 that the Turkish forces crossed the borders on Wednesday and reached the outskirts of the village inside the Syrian territories.

Villagers also said two Turkish bulldozers removed the border barbed wires, entered the village and threatened the residents who tried to prevent their entrance. In the evening, they built a barricade and withdrew to Turkey.  

In February, the Turkish Army crossed the Syrian border through northern Aleppo after IS threatened to destroy the Suleiman Shah tomb. They recovered the artifacts and moved the remains to the Syrian Kurdish village of Ashme, 20 km west of Kobani and about 180 meters inside Syria.

 

(Dilovan Cheto in Sarimsakh and Heybar Othman in Qamishlo contributed to this report)