NGOs leave IDP camps in Syria’s Hasakah after Turkish drone strikes
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Director of the Washokani camp in the countryside of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, said on Thursday that humanitarian organizations and associations present in the camp “fled” after the Turkish airstrikes targeted the camp’s surroundings.
Early on Thursday, the Turkish drones struck seven sites in different areas of northern Syria, hitting infrastructure and vital facilities. There is information about casualties, according to the Monitoring and Documentation Department at North Press.
Barzan Abdullah, director of the Washokani camp, told North Press that the camp’s outskirts were targeted by the Turkish drones with several strikes this morning, causing panic and fear among the IDPs, as the targeting was very close to the camp’s fence.
The drone strikes took place following a statement by Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, in which he threatened to strike a broader range of targets in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for the Ankara attack.
On Oct. 1, two individuals carried out a bomb attack in front of the building of the Ministry of Interior in Ankara injuring two police officers.
On Wednesday, Fidan claimed that the two assailants who carried out the attack had been trained in Syria. “From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces,” he threatened.
The camp houses about 16,000 IDPs of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) who fled their hometown in 2019 during the so-called Turkish “Peace Spring” operation.
“12 to 15 humanitarian organizations and associations present in the camp left, leaving those living in the camp in a state of fear and panic,” Abdullah told North Press.
He condemned the Turkish attacks, urging the Global Coalition and international organizations to stop the Turkish aggression on northern and eastern Syria, which has even impacted the IDPs’ camps.