A Turkish drone strike took a devastating toll on Tuesday killing two female civilian officials from the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), along with the driver of the targeted vehicle. The incident has furtherly heightened tensions in the region.
The drone attack on the Al-Qahtaniyah (Tirbespiyê) – Qamishli (Qamişlo) road claimed the lives of Qamishli Canton Co-chair Yusra Derwêş, her deputy Lîman Şiwêş, and driver Firat Tûma. Another official, Qamishli Canton’s co-chair Gabî Şemûn, sustained injuries in the strike, according to the local ANHA news agency.
The attack drew condemnation from the Executive Council of the Jazira (Cizîrê) Region. In a press release denouncing the act the council emphasised that the incident occurred following the AANES’s announcement that it would put thousands of ISIS detainees on trail, and amid the ongoing Astana talks on the potential for reconciliation between Turkey and Syria.
The council’s co-chair, Viviyan Beho Osê, expressed concerns over the Turkish government’s role in supporting terrorism and attempting to undermine the administration’s efforts. “We are in favour of resolving the conflict in Syria and have a project, but it is clear that some local and international powers do not want the problem to be resolved,” Osê said.
Kurdish journalist Fehim Işık took to Twitter after the incident, highlighting a meeting that took place between the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the same day. Işık emphasised that there was no direct evidence linking Masrour Barzani to the attack but expressed concerns that negotiations with those responsible for such acts could “embolden occupiers”.
While Turkish state-backed media reported that Turkey’s intelligence agency had ‘neutralised’ a senior figure of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the Tal Rifaat (Til Rifat) area, the agencies did not report on the civilian deaths, nor have Turkish authorities released an official statement regarding the casualities.