29/04/2022

SYRIA: Zenobia Women’s Gathering demands end to continued Turkish crimes

MABBUG, Syria — Civil society organizations in North and East Syria continue to call for international actors to do more to end the continued aggression of Turkish forces in North and East Syria. In recent months, Turkish forces and their Syrian National Army (SNA) proxies have escalated their bombing, with artillery and drones, of military as well as civilian areas in North and East Syria. 

Among the recently targeted areas is Mabbug (Manbij) and its surrounding villages, specifically the villages of Awn al-Dadat and Muhsinli north of the city. Last week, these two villages were hit by more than 38 mortar shells, in addition to two drone attacks.

The Mabbug Military Council stated that the shelling and drone strikes didn’t result in any casualties or material losses.

The Zenobia Women’s Gathering in Mabbug issued a statement in which it condemned the continuous Turkish bombing of North and East Syria in general and the countryside of Mabbug in particular.

The statement said that the repeated Turkish attacks seek to destabilize the region and force civilians to leave their homes.

It also indicated that Turkey is violating international ceasefire agreements.

The statement stressed the need for the international community to protect defenseless civilians in all areas of North and East Syria from the increased Turkish violations.

Aside from the continued Turkish aggression, in the areas under their control criminality is rampant, with theft, extortion, and kidnapping commonplace.

In a recent update, the Violations Documentation Center of Northern Syria (VDC-SY) stated that, so far this year, 225 civilians have been arbitrarily arrested by Turkish-backed forces in occupied Cafrin (Afrin) in northwestern Syria.