Turkey continuously shells villages in Aleppo northern countryside
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – The Turkish army renewed Monday morning its shelling of several villages in the northern countryside of Aleppo governorate with no reports of casualties.
Turkish artillery targeted the village of Sheikh Issa and the vicinity of Tel Rifat with 15 shells,
The source said that Turkey had also targeted with 30 shells the villages of Smouqa, Umm al-Qura, al-Wardiya and the villages of Dam Shahba, causing damage to crops.
The northern countryside of Aleppo governorate (also known as Shahba region) houses IDPs of the Kurdish city of Afrin which was occupied in 2018 by Turkey following a military operation called “Olive Branch” to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of maintaining Turkish national security.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 40 villages and five camps Shahba region since then.
Another source said that the shelling on Smouqa injured Wa’el Zahran, a member of the Syrian government forces. He was hospitalized at Aleppo Military Hospital and is now in critical condition, the source added.
On Sunday, the Turkish forces shelled the villages of Tenneb and Soghana in the southern countryside of Afrin, causing material damage.
Since early May, the villages of the northern countryside of Aleppo governorate have been witnessing continuous Turkish shelling, which could affect the residents by damaging their crops as they enter the harvest season.