Kurds Killed in Syria by NATO Turkey: 5 Children Among the Dead
Nuray Lydia Oglu, Noriko Watanabe, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
NATO Turkey launched fresh air strikes in the province of Hasakah. The upshot is more Kurdish deaths, including five children.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) based in the United Kingdom, over 650 combatants and civilians have been killed by Turkey (and proxy forces) since December 12. Hence, the death toll has kept on increasing since military clashes broke out in the environs of the city of Manbij. Therefore, Turkey and its proxies continue to put enormous pressure on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – with civilians being expendable to the political elites in Ankara.
Other recent attacks by Turkey include Sarrin town (near Kobane – Kobani), where a grain silo was targeted. Also, the SDF continues to be attacked in the environs of the Tishrin Dam.
The SOHR condemned the government of Turkey and called for this nation to “immediately halt the killing of Syrian civilians and its military offensives in northern Syria.”
Recently, the Islamist forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) signed an agreement with the secular-minded Kurdish forces. Accordingly, it was announced that the Kurdish-led SDF had accepted the integration of its forces into the Syrian Army. However, with HTS and other Sunni Islamists killing vast numbers of Alawites (many Christians were also killed) – and the ongoing attacks against the Kurds by NATO Turkey – then how valid is the agreement if no protection can be guaranteed in Kurdish areas (and other minorities) and in Alawite strongholds?
Mazloum Abdi (General Commander of the SDF) recently said, “The Syrian government must act as a true representative of all segments of society, ensuring justice and equality for everyone.”
Under the prevailing conditions, it remains to be seen if Alawites, Christians, the Druze, Islamists, Kurds, secularists, and others can be accommodated into a new Syria under the Islamist-led government.
The omens look bleak after Sunni Islamists butchered untold numbers of Alawites.
At the same time, Turkey continues to kill Kurds. Meanwhile, Israel launches air strikes in the south (a buffer zone against the new HTS-led interim government – and Israel is concerned about the Druze facing persecution). Also, tensions have broken out between Syria and Lebanon in border areas.
The New York Times says, “Turkey is still bombing armed Kurdish insurgents in Iraq and Syria, even after their leader urged them to lay down their arms and disband, and their group declared a cease-fire.”
NATO Turkey – which continues to occupy North Cyprus after many decades – will not tolerate any Kurdish group that is independent of the power concentration policies of Ankara. Also, Turkey understands that NATO is impotent against the occupation forces of this country. Therefore, the continuing killing of Kurds (Christians, Yazidis, and others have also been killed by Turkish bombardments, drone attacks, and air strikes in Iraq and Syria) continues unabated.
The situation in Syria looks bleak.
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