The United States has called for de-escalation of the increasingly volatile situation in northern Syria, following a recent surge in violence in the region.
Expressing concern over reports of heightened casualties, US State Department spox Matthew Miller took to Twitter to emphasise the need for “all parties to de-escalate to preserve stability”.
Turkey’s drone and artillery strikes against various Kurdish-led areas of northeast Syria have intensified, prompting the United States to issue the plea for restraint.
A Turkish drone strike on Tuesday killed two female civilian officials from the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), including Qamishli Canton Co-chair Yusra Derwêş, her deputy Lîman Şiwêş, and the driver of the targeted vehicle, Firat Tûma. Another official sustained serious injuries in the attack.
Turkish airstrikes claimed more civilian lives last week, as well as at least seven Syrian government soldiers, a Russian soldier, and numerous Kurdish fighters.
Along with the relentless Turkish attacks against Kurdish forces, the region has witnessed a series of incidents involving other parties, contributing to the already-tense situation.
Russian warplanes conducted several airstrikes on various areas in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Governorate, that remains under the control of an Islamist Syrian rebel faction, amid mutual escalation between the conflicting powers.
Meanwhile, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebel faction formerly known as al-Nusra Front, targeted several Syrian government positions.
While the United States called for restraint, the autonomous administration in northeast Syria also condemned Turkey’s aggressive war policy towards Kurdish-led regions. AANES demanded that the 2019 ceasefire guarantor states, namely the United States and Russia, implement the agreement and “put an end to the terrorism conducted by the Turkish occupation forces”.
