Turkey strikes NE Syria’s infrastructure – AANES top official
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said that Turkey targeted infrastructure to force people to flee and evacuate the region.
Abd Hamed al-Mehbash, co-chair of the AANES Executive Council added that the Turkish airstrikes included civilians and military personnel in addition to the infrastructure.
Since November 20, intense and wide spread aerial operation is being carried out by the Turkish forces against north and northeast Syria which has claimed tens of lives and destroyed facilities and infrastructure along the whole border strip from Aleppo northern countryside in the northwest up to Derik (al-Malikiyah) in the northeast.
The Turkish airstrikes hit oil fields, the only gas installation, grain silos and power station in the countryside of the city of Qamishli, northeast Syria.
They also targeted a school and a hospital in the city of Kobani in northern Syria.
Al-Mehbash described the Turkish airstrikes as “barbaric and brutal”.
He pointed out that Turkey aims at creating a state of chaos and instability.
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.
The Turkish goal of hitting the infrastructure is force the people to flee and create a “humanitarian crisis” so that it can easily “occupy the region”.
Al-Mehbash noted to diplomatic contacts with allies through the AANES offices outside northeast Syria to stop the Turkish escalation.
The AANES official called on the guarantor states (the US and Russia) and the Global Coalition to assume their role in curbing Turkey to stop the military escalation.