Mazloum Abdi says Turkey tries to undermine efforts of AANES
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Commander in Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi said on Sunday that Turkish attacks aim at undermining the efforts and capabilities of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
Abdi said in a statement on X that during the past 72 hours, Turkey had targeted more than 145 locations in areas held by the AANES, including power stations, water and energy facilities, hospitals, and schools.
“Turkish recent attack directly aimed at undermining the efforts and capabilities of the AANES with hostile political intentions and a deliberate attempt to disrupt civilian life, according to the commander in chief.
This represents an assault on international efforts and the work of civil society organizations and institutions that work to establish stability and serve the local population after the defeat of Islamic State (ISIS), the statement read.
“The destruction of infrastructure amounts to war crimes and cannot be described as anything less than that,” according to the statement.
On Oct. 5, the Turkish army launched drone strikes on infrastructure facilities in several areas of north and northeast Syria that is run by the AANES. The strikes took place following a statement by Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, in which he threatened to strike a broader range of targets in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for the Ankara attack.
On Oct. 1, two individuals carried out a bomb attack in front of the building of the Ministry of Interior in Turkey’s Ankara injuring two police officers.
On Oct. 4, Fidan claimed that the two attackers had been trained in Syria. “From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces,” he threatened.