Turkish shelling hits house of kid already affected by previous Turkish bombardment
The child Abdo Henifi with his father at their house in Syria’s Kobani – North Press
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – One Turkish shell was enough to change the course of the life of a four-year-old child who never imagined that he will walk towards his future on only one leg, as he lost it in a Turkish shelling.
Abdo Hanifi stands on only one leg. He limps to the house yard to watch children of his village playing nearby, without being able to join them.
On January 8, the Turkish forces shelled nine areas in Kobani, including the village of Qaramogh, 20 km east of Kobani, claiming the life of a civilian and wounding 11 others, six of them from the same family (relatives), three children, including Hanifi who lost his leg, and three women.
The family members, who sustained injuries, try to stay next to Hanifi, who is still afraid of the sounds of bullets and warplanes, as these sounds remind him with painful memories, according to Mustafa Hanifi, Abdo’s father.
On Tuesday, Turkey escalated shelling of Kobani, including the family’s house, causing panic, especially for the child, who kept crying and screaming out of fear.
The father, 38, recalled the incident and told North Press the details of that day, as his son lost his leg and his two cousins were wounded.
At that day, three women and three children were wounded, who are the father’s sister and his two sisters-in-law, in addition to Hanifi’s cousins, Yawer, who was a year and a half and sustained injuries in his leg, and Saleh, who was six months old and sustained injuries in his arms.
However, Hanifi sustained the greatest injury, as he lost his leg.
Hanifi gets better when children come home, as he plays with them, sitting. However, as they leave, he stays alone at his place without being able to follow them or go outside to village squares.
The father, while holding back his tears, affected by his son’s fate, said that his son cries whenever he sees his peers playing around, while he keeps watching them sadly.
He said that his son loves to play soccer, but he sits powerless watching others playing it, describing it as the most difficult scene.
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) treated Hanifi, as Social Affairs and Labor Board carried out the first stages of his treatment on February, including the installation of a prosthetic leg.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
Hanifi refuses to use the prosthetic leg that made for him, and prefers to use his only one leg to move between the rooms of his house.
The father calls on international community and humanitarian organizations to stop the Turkish attacks and ensure the future of the children of the region.
Hanifi is not the only child who has lost a part of his body. Some of them have lost their lives due to Turkish bombardment with artillery and drones.
On August 6, a Turkish drone targeted a car in al-Sinaa neighborhood (industrial zone) in the city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria, killing five people, including two children.
On May 21, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to carry out another major military cross-border incursion into northern Syria. Later on June 1, Erdogan specified his targets in the two northern Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat.