Turkish artillery shells Syria’s Aleppo, destroys olive trees
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Turkish forces and its affiliated armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), targeted on Tuesday villages in the countryside of Afrin, in the countryside of Aleppo Governorate with four shells, destroying scores of olive trees.
The Turkish forces shelled agricultural lands between the villages of Aqiba and Ziyara, north of Aleppo from their military base in Azaz, according to the source.
In response, Syrian government forces shelled the village of Basselhaya, held by the SNA factions, a military source told North Press.
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.
There are about 16.000 displaced families from Afrin distributed over 42 villages and towns in Shahba region, in addition to 1.870 families, comprising 7.500 individuals, now living in the camps of Barkhodan, Sardam, Afrin, al-Awda, and Shahba, according to the Social Affairs and Labor Board of the Afrin region, currently operating in Aleppo northern countryside.
The area has been militarily protected by Russian and Syrian government forces since 2018.
The Turkish escalation comes in tandem with successive statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, threatening to launch a military operation against north Syria.
In a speech after charring a government meeting, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, the Turkish president renewed on June 27 his threats to launch a new military operation in northern Syria.
On June 1, Erdogan threatened to launch a military operation on northern Syria, and specified his targets in the two Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat, which include many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
On May 25, Turkey’s National Security Council said that Turkey’s “existing and future military operations along its southern borders were necessary for the country’s security.” In the meeting, Erdogan delivered a speech to the MPs of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and said, “Turkish military would continue to rid its neighbor of terrorists” refers to the SDF.
Earlier today, Turkish artillery shelled the outskirts of the village of Tel Qarah, in the northern countryside of Aleppo with two shells.