Turkey targets female workers in NE Syria causing disabilities

By Samer Yassin/ Eva Amin

HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Hamda al-Obaid was diligently working in a cotton field when suddenly Turkish forces shelled the field. The deafening sound of explosions echoed through the air, disorienting her senses, the aftermath of the shelling created a veil of reduced visibility, making it nearly impossible for her to see what was happening around her.

Filled with worry and concern for the safety of her two daughters who were also working alongside her, she strained her ears, hoping to catch any sound that would reassure her of their well-being. In that moment of uncertainty, she relied solely on the sound of their voices, desperately trying to discern if they were safe amidst the chaos.

On that unfortunate day, al-Obaid and her daughters went out to work in cotton picking, unaware that Turkey would target the cotton fields. This came as a surprise, considering Turkey’s recent launch of severe attacks in various areas of northeast Syria.

Since Oct. 5, Turkey launched many airstrikes, artillery shells, and drone strikes on vital infrastructure, which caused power stations in Hasakah, Amuda, Qamishli, Tirbe Spiyeh, and Derik to go out of service.

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 Oct.4, 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.

Even cotton pickers, unarmed civilians, were not exempt from the recent Turkish aggression; five women were injured in the attack.

The health conditions of the injured women vary. Two of them, who are sisters, suffered severe shrapnel wounds to their feet and abdomen. As well as, two others sustained injuries to their head and abdomen: one of the women named Farah Adnan lost both her feet due to the shell landing near her.

Al-Obaid, the mother of Bushra and Jumana, who were wounded in the shelling, describes the moment when the shell struck, “When the shell landed near Farah, my daughters and I tried to hide amidst the cotton, and shortly after, I began searching for them.”

The mother could figure the voice of her daughter as she was crying, “I cannot walk,” the mother, realized later that her daughter lost her leg.

The grieving mother began anxiously searching for her other daughter, only to find her in a distant place away from her sister. She wondered “How did my daughter end up there? We were together before the shell hit.”

The mother carried her daughters and dragged them to her brothers who transferred them to a nearby village. Then they were transferred to a hospital in the town of Derbasiyah, north Hasakah, and later to a hospital in Hasakah.

Al-Obaidis still in shock as she is still suffering from a persistent headache. She does not know what hit them, whether it was from an aircraft, missile, or artillery. All she remembers is the whistling sound and the intense blast.

Despite being far from the targeted place, Ali al-Obaid, the father of the two girls, witnessed the moment of the bombardment. He rushed to the field to check his family members; he was shocked when he saw the health condition of his wife and two daughters.

Speaking to North Press, he said “I do not know the details of the shelling, except for the smoke and dust that I observed from a distance. I know that the targeting was in the area where women were working in picking cotton.”

Unknown fate

Farah al-Fawaz, one of the workers who were ther, told North Press “Initially, a shell fell a few kilometers away from us, so I told those who were with me about the necessity of leaving the area before another shell hit, but they refused.”

“Ten minutes later, a second shell hit the field where my sister and her daughter were working. The dust covered the area, and the shell burned over a whole acre of land.”

“I stood up to inquire about the condition of the workers. My sister told me that she was injured in the head, and her daughter Farah told me that her legs had been amputated,” she said.

“After the shell hit, the locals rushed us to the hospital in Derbasiyah, and from there to Hasakah.”

The cotton workers experienced a state of fear like never before, said Farah “Out of fear, we could not distinguish between south and north. And now, we still do not know who has recovered and who has died.”