Turkish-backed forces continue to launch attacks in North and East Syria despite calls for ceasefire

AYN ISSA, Syria – The villages of Hoshana and Debs located along the M4 highway outside the town of Ayn Issa, north of Raqqa, were shelled by Turkish occupation forces yesterday. Clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian National Army (SNA), a collection of militias, including several espousing Islamist ideologies, formed and funded by Turkey, near Hoshana following the bombardment as the SNA attempted to advance.

According to the SDF accounts, during the fighting they destroyed a truck-mounted DShK, killing two SNA fighters inside the vehicle.

The commander of the Sultan Suleyman Shah Brigade, a member of the SNA, was also killed after his car was targeted by an anti-tank guided missile.

In related news, rockets fired by the SNA at the village of Arab in the Mabbug (Manbij) countryside killed a young girl and injured her father.

Turkey and the SNA have occupied Tel Abyad, Rish Ayno (Ras al-Ayn), and the surrounding countryside since their invasion of North Syria in October 2019, which displaced an estimated 300,000 civilians.

Turkey and Turkish-backed forces continue to attack areas under the control of the SDF despite international calls for a ceasefire due to the spreading of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The SDF has stated their agreement with the call for an international ceasefire.