The destruction of infrastructure is tantamount to, and can only be described as, a war crime, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi said in his stark statement on social media on Sunday, following Turkey’s intensive military offensive in North and East Syria.
Abdi revealed that Turkish forces had carried out a bombing campaign that hit more than 145 sites across northern Syria in just 72 hours. Targets included vital infrastructure such as electricity, water and energy facilities, as well as critical facilities such as hospitals and schools.
The Turkish government launched a barrage of military attacks on various areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) on 5 October, after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan declared cross-border attacks on Kurdish-led territories in Syria and Iraq to be legitimate.
The attacks left some two million people without electricity and water, destroying power stations and most of the region’s oil production facilities.
Alleging that Turkey’s actions were driven by aggressive political motives aimed at paralysing civilian life in the region, the SDF commander-in-chief minced no words.
“The latest Turkish attack directly targeted the efforts and capabilities of the Autonomous Administration,” he said.
Abdi argued that the Turkish attacks were targeting international efforts and the work of civil society organisations and civilian institutions that had been striving to establish stability and provide essential services to the local population following the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS).