Despite a US-mediated ceasefire between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey, which was extended until Friday on Tuesday evening, military attacks by Turkey and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) targeting locations around the city of Kobani (Kobanê) are continuing.
This morning, villages around Kobani were targeted by Turkish drone strikes and artillery fire, with a yet unclear extent of material damage and casualties. Yesterday, a Turkish drone targeted the “Kobani FM” radio station in Telat Barkal (Girê Berkel), close to Kobani, leaving material damages. However, no casualties were reported.
Fierce clashes at the strategic Tishreen Dam and Qara Qozaq Bridge have continued for the past 10 days, with at least 37 SNA mercenaries killed in yesterday’s clashes, according to the Manbij Military Council (MMC). Most recently, attacks against the Qara Qozaq bridge were reported this morning. SNA artillery fire and Turkish drone bombing have rendered the Tishreen dam inoperable, leaving two million people, including the entire city of Kobani, facing severe water shortages.
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The threat of an imminent Turkish attack on the city of Kobani remains, with media channels close to the SNA reporting of mobilisation of troops on the Turkish border close to Kobani. These claims have been supported by Kurdish political commentator Scharo Maroof, who stated that Turkey has established a military base in the Turkish border region, which “can be seen from Kobanê”.
In face of the threat of an imminent Turkish military attack, fighters of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) are expressing their commitment to successfully defend the city. In a video statement, YPJ fighter Ruken Rojhilat said that she will keep on resisting on the frontline for “the defense of her people, her land and her existence”. She explained that the YPJ are using “creative methods” such as war tunnels to avoid being targeted by the technically advanced Turkish military and SNA and “to inflict heavy blows”.
The YPJ has also shared the identities of two YPJ fighters called Zeyneb Welat from the city of Kobani and Arjin Merwan from Afrin (Efrîn) that were killed in a Turkish drone strike close to the Qara Qozaq bridge on 8 December. In the statement, the YPJ stated that they will “take revenge and fulfil the dreams” of the killed fighters and expressed their condolences to the families.
Roj Engîzek, one of the leading YPJ commanders at the Qara Qozaq bridge recalls the attacks in the last days, saying that “they [SNA and Turkey] came with their advanced technology, they attacked us mostly with heavy weapons, they wanted to chase us out of our positions”. She reiterated the YPJ’s commitment to keep on repelling the attacks of the SNA, backed by Turkish aerial support, by insisting that “we as an organisation do not accept surrender” and that “even if only one of us remains, we should not accept this betrayal ourselves, we will not let the enemy live on our lands.”
On Wednesday, the SDF announced the shootdown of a TB2 Bayraktar Turkish drone. The SDF also announced the death of one of their longstanding generals named Aziz Arab, who had played an important role in the 2014 historic resistance of Kobani against ISIS, which had been the first big defeat of ISIS in Syria.
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