International community’s inaction grows Turkish aspirations – AANES
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (ANNES) said it spares no efforts to exit Turkey from Syrian lands holding the international community accountable for its inaction.
This came in a statement issued in the third anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad along with affiliated armed opposition factions, known as Syrian National Army (SNA).
The statement pointed out that Turkey seeks to turkify the area it controls and to adopt the “policy of bargaining.”
The AANES denounced the policy embraced by Turkey in the lands it controls and its deportation of the original inhabitants and settling in “strangers” instead.
It added that Turkey aims at changing the history of the area and arousing “ethnic tensions.”
The AANES affirmed to “increase struggle to liberate areas under Turkey’s control and to hold accountable those responsible for criminal acts and practices.”
On October 9, 2019, the Turkish forces and their affiliated SNA factions launched a military operation against the city of Tel Abyad in the north of Raqqa and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) in the north of Hasakah.
The operation, named “Peace Spring”, led to the occupation of the two cities and their countryside in addition to the displacement of more than 300.000 of the original inhabitants.
“Inaction of the international policy helped Turkish aspirations increase,” the statement read.
The AANES called on the international community to bear its “ethical and legal” responsibilities to exit Turkey from Syrian lands and to guarantee a safe voluntary return for the original inhabitants to their areas.
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.