Turkish shelling on Syria’s Manbij halts attendance in 75 schools
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – Shelling by Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National army (SNA), on the northern and western countryside of Manbij, north Syria, halted attendance in 75 schools, an official of the Education Committee of the Manbij Civil Administration affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said on Wednesday.
On Sep. 1, the SNA and militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) launched an attack against the northwestern villages of Manbij. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) repelled the attacks and as a result more than 50 militants of the SNA and the HTS were killed and injured.
The attacks and intense shelling on the countryside of Manbij by the SNA factions have caused the halting of attendance at 75 schools in the villages along the contact lines, Abeer al-Barho, Deputy Co-Chair of the Education Committee in Manbij, said.
She told North Press that more than 21,000 students cannot attend their schools due to the Turkish shelling, which forced them to leave their villages.
There are around 17,500 students in the village of al-Farat and the surrounding villages in the north of Manbij who are waiting for joining their schools. In the village of al-Hayyah and the surrounding villages in the northeast of Manbij, about 4,000 students have been discontinued receiving education, according to al-Barho.
The attacks on Manbij came in tandem with attacks launched by gunmen affiliated to the Syrian government and Iranian-backed militias in Deir ez-Zor.
On Aug. 27, the SDF launched a military operation called “Security Reinforcement” with the support of the US-led Global Coalition on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, specifically in Deir ez-Zor, “to eradicate ISIS sleeper cells, pursue criminals responsible for perpetrating injustices against the local population, and to track down smugglers who exploit the populace’s livelihoods.”
On Aug. 30, the SDF announced the dismissal of commander of Deir ez-Zor Military Council, Ahmad al-Khabil, known as Abu Khawla, from duty, for his involvement “in multiple crimes and violations, including communication and coordination with external entities hostile to the revolution, committing criminal offenses and engaging in drug trafficking, mismanaging of the security situation, his negative role in increasing the activities of ISIS cells,” according to the SDF.
The operation led to the eruption of clashes between the SDF and gunmen affiliated with the dismissed leaders and with Nawaf al-Bashir, leader of al-Baggara tribe and a pro-Iranian figure whose groups are active in the western bank of the Euphrates which is under the control of the Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias.
The educational official appealed to humanitarian organizations and the international community for immediate intervention to stop the Turkish attacks and to return thousands of students to their schools.