In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, the Executive Council of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) condemned Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s recent declaration that all infrastructure and energy facilities in North and East Syria (also known as Rojava) and Iraqi Kurdistan would be considered “legitimate targets.”
Such military actions against civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian laws and constitute war crimes, KNK said.
KNK criticised the international community’s silence on Turkey’s “bold declaration of intent to systematically commit war crimes,” accusing organisations like NATO, the United Nations, and the Global Coalition Against ISIS of implicit approval through their inaction.
The statement follows widespread Turkish airstrikes in northern Syria on Thursday, including the al-Misheirfah neighbourhood in al-Hasakah (Heseke), where locals report civilian casualties.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had also accused Turkey of war crimes, and denied claims that perpetrators of Sunday’s major attack in Ankara had been in their territory.
Turkish aggression has put the lives of five million people in Kurdish-held Syria and Iraq, KNK said and called for immediate international action to prevent further what they call ethnic cleansing.
KNK’s final call addressed peoples around the world, to express their “uncompromising opposition” to Turkey’s aggressive actions and support for the peoples of Syria.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said Turkish drones, at least 15 of them, had struck a camp for displaced persons and a factory, resulting in multiple casualties. AANES also called on the US-led Global Coalition against ISIS and Russia, guarantor states in the region, to take a clear stance.