The Kurdish areas of Syria and Iraq have become a hotbed of heightened tensions as Turkey has stepped up its military operations. In recent months, there has been a significant escalation in the Turkish military’s targeting of Kurdish groups in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.
The increase in strikes follows the Turkish elections in May, in which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan secured another term in office.
Turkish drone strikes have targeted Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants based in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, as well as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Kurdish-led autonomous north-east of Syria. However, they have also caused civilian casualties.
In addition, Turkey’s air strikes this year have reached units of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. Three members of a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) anti-terror unit were killed and three others wounded in a Turkish drone strike on the Arbat agricultural airport in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) in Iraqi Kurdistan in August.
According to a statement from the SDF media centre, Turkey carried out a total of 798 strikes on areas in north-eastern Syria. These included 578 attacks with heavy weapons, 103 with airstrikes from warplanes and drones, 25 with light weapons and sniper attacks, and two cases of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The statement highlighted that 173 SDF fighters lost their lives while thwarting attacks by Turkish forces, Islamic State (ISIS) and Syrian government forces.
Throughout 2023, the toll on civilians in the region was significant, with 39 individuals, including 11 children, losing their lives. Ninety-eight people, including 15 military personnel, were injured in the hostilities, the statement said.
Air strikes, which local and international media reported killed and wounded dozens of PKK and SDF fighters and civilians, escalated in the second half of the year. In mid-June, the PKK ended a unilateral ceasefire with Turkey announced after the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on 6 February.
Recent Turkish air strikes targeting civilian settlements and infrastructure in northern and eastern Syria have killed at least 10 civilians and injured more than 25.
Turkey says the attacks are in retaliation for military losses suffered by Turkish forces during operations against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Ankara claims the SDF is linked to the PKK.
However, according to the SDF, the PKK has no military presence in the Kurdish-led regions of Syria and vehemently denies any link between its forces and the PKK.