people still suffer from Turkish attacks on Syria’s Sere Kaniye in 2019

Samer Yassin

SERE KANIYE, Syria (North Press) – Muhammad Hamid, attends a school in al-Tala’ camp in Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), south of the city of Hasakah, northeast Syria, determining to complete his education and obtain a certificate to support his family.

Hamid, 15, suffers deformities in most of his body due to burns he sustained during the shelling of their home in the city of Sere Kaniye when Turkey occupied the city in 2019.

Sere Kaniye has been under the occupation of the Turkish forces and has been controlled by the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), since 2019 following the so-called “Peace Spring” military operation that aimed to push away the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under the pretext of protecting the Turkish national security.

At that time, Hamid sustained fourth-degree burns on over 50 percent of his body as a result of white phosphorus bombs. This incident compelled his father to relocate him to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and subsequently to France with the support of the Barzani Charity Organization for medical treatment of the burns.

“I am currently unable to work and assist my father due to the deformities that have developed in my body, especially in my hands,” Hamid told North Press.

Due to his bad health condition, his father enrolled him in some private courses. “I attend school to obtain a certificate in the future to help my father with household expenses,” Hamid said.

In France, Hamid underwent eight surgical and cosmetic operations.

Hamid, hails from the city of Kobani, north Syria, used to live in Sere Kaniye before the Turkish occupation of the area.

The father, who has seven children, resides in Sere Kaniye camp, south of the city of Hasakah, and works on his car to transport drinking water to the camps in the city.

The father said, “I feel for my son, as his health condition renders him unable to engage in strenuous work. That’s why I assist him greatly in his studies, so he can succeed and obtain a good certificate that will help him in the future.”

Hamid complains about the forgetfulness of service institutions, social organizations, and media outlets regarding his child’s situation. “Every six months, a humanitarian organization or media outlet visits us to inquire and check on our situation, but it’s done timidly, as if they have forgotten the story of my son and what happened to him.”