🔴 Head of the Syrian Democratic Forces Media Centre, Farhad Shami (@farhad_shami), calls out Turkish President Erdoğan's hypocrisy in his remarks on Israel-Palestine while Turkish forces continue military actions in Syria.
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— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) October 12, 2023
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s expressions of sympathy and concern for the Palestinian people and condemnation of the targeting of civic infrastructure in the region are disingenuous, said the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Media Centre, Farhad Shami on Wednesday.
Shami’s statement was a response to Erdoğan’s remarks on the human rights violations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Erdoğan denounced Israel’s actions that cut off essential services and infrastructure, destroyed places of worship and prevented access to basic human necessities. “A conflict conducted with all these kinds of shameful methods is not a war, it is a massacre,” he said on Wednesday. He pointedly asked, “Where are the human rights?”
Following these remarks, Shami accused the Turkish president of hypocrisy. “Ironically, his army has been responsible for killing our people and destroying their civic facilities in North and East Syria,” he said.
“Erdoğan is exploiting international double standards, and his army’s crimes against our people in North and East Syria have surpassed even those of ISIS [Islamic State]. It is crucial to expose his attempts to deceive public opinion, and he must be held accountable for his terrorism,” he continued.
Shami’s assertion is rooted in the ongoing Turkish aggression in Kurdish-held areas of Syria. Turkish forces have been conducting a relentless campaign of air, artillery, and drone strikes in the region since 5 October. The assault has inflicted severe damage on civilian infrastructure, including gas, water, electricity, and oil facilities. Nearly 80 percent of civilian infrastructure is currently suffering damage or destruction.
By Wednesday, civilian casualties had surged to 24, with nine fatalities and 15 injured. On the military front, the number of casualties had risen to 70, with 39 killed and 31 wounded.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi also reacted to Erdoğan’s remarks, arguing that waging a war that leads to cutting off water, electricity and roads, and destroying infrastructure, places of worship and schools is exactly what the Turkish government is doing in North and East Syria. “The Turkish occupation commits ‘massacres’ and war crimes everyday,” he said.
