Turkish artillery shells inhabited villages in Syria’s Tel Tamr
TEL TAMR, Syria (North Press) – Turkish artillery shelled on Monday two villages west of the town of Tel Tamr, north of Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, causing material damage.
A source of Tel Tamr Military Council, affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), told North Press that the Turkish shelling targeted the two inhabited villages of al-Gozaliya and Tel al-Laban, leading to a large wave of displacement.
The town of Tel Tamr north of Hasakah has been under constant attack by Turkish forces and the SNA, for more than two years.
Turkey has escalated its attacks on areas in north and northeast Syria, using artillery and drones following Tehran Summit, in which Turkey failed to obtain a green light by Iran and Russia to launch its military operation in north Syria.
Since May 23 Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to carry out a major military cross-border incursion into northern Syria. He specified his targets in the two northern Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat.
On August 1, Turkish forces targeted the villages of Tel Tamr with 120 shells, causing casualties and Tel Tamr power transformer station went out of service for the 27th time since the beginning of the year.
This came in tandem with a similar Turkish military escalation on several villages, east and west of Qamishli, northeastern Syria.
Additionally, Turkish forces and Turkish-backed Syrian armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), shelled the town of Zirgan (Abu Rasin) north of Hasakah, causing communication network interruption.
Tel Tamr, which has a population of about 25.000 and is 30 km away from the Syrian-Turkish border, is of strategic importance as it is a junction on the M4 Highway linking the Jazira region in northeast Syria to Aleppo Governorate in northwest.
The countryside of Tel Tamr includes about 33 Assyrian villages, 5 of which were almost fully emptied due to ISIS attacks and their location on the frontlines with the Turkish forces, according to the residents.