Syrian families displaced, devastated by Turkey’s “Peace Spring”
Al-Sa'a (Clock) Roundabout in the city of Tel Abyad, northern Syria – North Press
By Zana al-Ali
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Sozdar Ismail vividly recalls the moment he learned of his parents’ death, just two hours after Turkish forces launched their military operation in Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), Northeast Syria, five years ago.
Ismail, a civil activist originally from the village of Madkalta near the city of Tel Abyad in Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria, learned of their fate through WhatsApp messages from activists on the ground.
The Turkish offensive, dubbed “Operation Peace Spring,” displaced 300,000 people, left 1,521 injured, and killed 352, according to human rights reports.
Ismail’s parents, Muhammad Qadir Ismail and Rabia Aziz Ismail, were the first civilians killed in Tel Abyad during the attack. His father worked at the local cultural center, and his mother was a Kurdish language teacher. Neither had any involvement in the war.
Ismail, now residing in Germany, described how his family was torn apart by the Turkish invasion. While he and some family members left Syria, his younger brother was injured in the bombing of their home. The traumatic events left his brother scarred, physically and mentally. Six months after the attack, a German humanitarian organization arranged for his brother to receive treatment in Germany.
Seeking justice, Ismail filed complaints against Turkish the forces through multiple international human rights bodies, including the U.N. Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, and Syrians for Truth and Justice.
Despite contacting various organizations across Europe, his efforts to hold the perpetrators accountable have yielded little success.
He has also appealed to European embassies in the region, particularly in Lebanon and Erbil, but has yet to receive any formal response.
Compounding the family’s suffering, their property in Tel Abyad was seized by Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA). Ismail’s family home is now occupied by a displaced family from Idlib, while his uncle’s house is controlled by two Iraqi families.
Reports by Human Rights Watch confirm that the SNA factions have been involved in extrajudicial killings, property seizures, and the forced displacement of Kurdish families, leaving many internally displaced persons (IDPs) hesitant to return due to fears for their safety.
Hundreds of displaced residents from Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye have now spent five years living in camps, with many from Sere Kaniye housed in a camp in the northern countryside of Hasakah, Northeast Syria. Meanwhile, the SNA factions maintain control over the area, continuing to seize properties and consolidate their hold on the region.