Four civilians were killed in a village near the town of Ayn Issa in the Tell Abyad district, north Syria, as the village was hit by the occupying Turkish forces in the region with artillery. Three people were also wounded during the bombardment.
The identities of the people killed in the village of Dibis on 17 September have been announced as Malik El-Miharb El-Hemîd (25), Îdan Hemed El-Imêrî (40), Hemed El-Xenîs El-Cerbû (20) and Xemûs El-Bisêlî (17).
The Tell Abyad district, situated within the Raqqa Governerate, was occupied by Turkey in October 2019, and the Turkish forces and affiliated armed groups have been carrying out attacks on unoccupied territories ever since.
The city of Tell Abyad is on the Turkish border and constitutes a divided city with the bordering city of Akçakale in Turkey.
While Turkey’s attacks have recently been stepped up on all fronts of Tell Abyad and around the M4 international highway, a commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) confirmed there was increased widespread Turkish military activity in the region involving the construction of new outposts, digging of trenches and delivery of weapons including tanks, artillery cannons and rocket launchers.
Speaking to the Hawar News Agency (ANHA), the commander Baz Afrin warned that the lack of any international reaction to Turkey’s targeting of civilians could only lead to a worsening of the situation.
He also pointed out that there were a number of Russian military observation posts in the region, also indicating that the silence of Russia over Turkey’s constant violations of an agreed ceasefire actually meant that they were complicit in Turkey’s attacks.
