Civilians in Syria’s Ain Issa suffer amid frequent Turkish shelling
AIN ISSA, Syria (North Press) – Residents of Syria’s Ain Issa said that American forces left them under the Turkish shelling and withdrew, while Russian forces watch as they are bombed.
The town of Ain Issa has been witnessing frequent shelling by Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition groups since its offensive on Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad (Gre-Spi).
Muslim Wesso, a resident of Ain Issa, told North Press that the shrapnel from Turkish shells are still scattered around the homes near the Russian military base there.
Wesso added that Russian forces watch civilian homes being bombed and do nothing.
American forces withdrew from their base in Ain Issa on October 13, 2019, as Turkish-backed armed opposition groups approached the outskirts of the town.
The shelling of the armed opposition groups on Ain Issa Camp led to the flight of dozens of families of ISIS militants from the camp, many of whom fled to areas controlled by the Turkish-backed opposition.
On November 27, Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition groups carried out intense shelling on the town of Ain Issa, causing the injury of two children and a young man with varying degrees of severity.
The armed opposition groups also targeted, with mortar and artillery shells, Basida village in the western countryside of Tel Abyad.
Wesso said that they do not trust Russian forces, despite their assertion that they will remain in the region, as they do not prevent the Turkish shelling.
The town recently witnessed a wave of civilian displacement as a result of the increase in Turkish shelling, amid fears of residents that it will intensify.
Wesso added that they sleep in the open air, desert, or in remote homes when the shelling begins, and they return to their homes when the shelling ends.
An agreement signed between Moscow and Ankara in October 2019 provided for the cessation of all combat operations and the conduct of joint patrols in the border region in northeastern Syria.
Shamsa al-Issa, a resident of Ain Issa, said: “My children are afraid of the Turkish shelling and we do not know where to go or what to take with us to cover ourselves from the cold.”
“There is no place to go to if we are forced to leave our homes,” she added.
In November, residents of Ain Issa took part in a demonstration in front of the Russian base in the town to protest their failure to stop the frequent Turkish shelling on the area.
Sarah Fanash, a resident of Ain Issa, said that three shells fell several days ago in front of her house.
She added that the shelling is often random, and shells fall between civilian homes from time to time.
In the town, there are both Russian and Syrian government bases, which were stationed according to understandings with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in that area.
The town is under the control of the SDF, and it is an important transportation link between Aleppo and Hasakah via the M4 highway. The town is also connected to the north with the city of Tel Abyad on the Turkish border, and also with the city of Raqqa.