Turkey shells Rojava in northern Syria, casualties reported

AFRIN, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan24) – The ongoing Turkish army shelling on the Afrin region of northwestern Syria on Friday and Saturday claimed the life of a female security element and wounded several civilians.

Speaking to Kurdistan24, Rezan Heddo, Head of Defense Authority in Afrin, said the Turkish artillery bombardment on Afrin’s district of Shaykh Al Hadid (known in Kurdish as Shiye) on the borders with Turkey had been continuous for two days.

“The female security element Layla Aziz Ozo lost her life, and many were wounded,” he said.

Heddo added that dozens of houses in the villages around Shiye were demolished due to the shelling.

Additionally, a statement issued by the YPG media office in Afrin said the bombardment was a provocation by the Turkish army to ignite the fire of war.

The statement said the Turkish military had used heavy weapons to fire on Shiye’s villages of Marwaniyah, Sinara, Hikja, and Anqala.

“The Turkish military shelling led to serious material damage to the property of people, including the destruction of 13 houses in Marwaniyah, the cutting off of dozens of olive trees,” the YPG statement said.

The Turkish military and authorities could not be reached for comment.

Turkey has repeatedly assaulted its southern borders with Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Afrin, which is controlled by the Kurdish forces of People’s Protection Units (YPG), is under siege and is divided from other Syrian Kurdish areas.

It is separated by the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda-affiliate, Nusra, from the east, the Syrian Army from the south, and the blocked Turkish borders from the north and west.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany