Latest Summary of Turkey's Attacks on Rojava

TURKISH ASSAULT ON HUMANITARIAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN NORTH AND EAST SYRIA (OCT 5-11, 2023)

*Data previously compiled by Rojava Information Center

Turkey’s campaign of air-strikes against NES has been ongoing since 2019 invasion, killing hundreds of civilians to date. The current bombing campaign marks the worst escalation since 2019, putting millions of civilians’ lives in jeopardy. Turkey announced its intention to treat what it called ‘YPG infrastructure’ as legitimate targets following a recent bomb attack in Ankara, which injured two policemen and was claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). But NES’ political and military leaders have emphasised they have no connection whatsoever to the Ankara attack, accusing Turkey of using the incident as a casus belli.

From the 5th to 10th of October, Turkey conducted 304 strikes (25 warplane, 58 drone, 221 artillery) on NES, hitting a total of 224 sites, killing 9 civilians and injuring 15, killing 39 military/security personnel (35 Asayish, 4 SDF), and inuring 31 (28 Asayish, 3 Syrian Arab Army).

Turkish strikes targeted 12 oil facilities (Gerdahol, al-Qaws, Saeeda, Odeh, Tel Khatoun, Al-Zarba, 5 in Tirbespi, Cil Axa), 7 power/electricity facilities (Heseke Western Dam, Qamishlo northern, Amude, Segirka Daro, Teqil Beqil, Suwaydiyah, Ayn Issa, Tirbespi), 3 water stations (Fatsa village, Khana Sere, Heseke outskirts), 2 COVID-19 hospital facilities (Kobane, Derik), and 4 factory facilities (ice factory near Qamishlo, construction factory near Heseke, nylon factory near Derik, paint factory in Kobane) 2 grain silos (Qazali and Amude).

While not an infrastructure strike, 3 Turkish airstrikes hit an Asayish (internal security forces) training center in Hamza Bek village (Derik), killing 29 of the Asayish’s anti-narcotic team and wounding 28. In Tel Habash (Amude) a Turkish airstrike also killed 6 Asayish. In addition to aerial strikes, there has been intense shelling from Turkey and the Turkish proxy Syrian National Army (SNA) along the ‘M4 Strip’ contact line, the Manbij contact line, and along the border near Kobane, Tirbespi, Amude, and Girke Lege, as well as the exclave Shehba region. These strikes have damaged 48 schools. All schools close to the border are closed and 10,000 children are not receiving education. Turkish/SNA shelling on Mastour, Ayn Issa, seriously injured 5 women who were cotton picking in a field.

Infrastructure for electricity, water, cooking gas, and oil is destroyed across the region. Suwaydiyah gas bottling and power station supplied 50% of the Jazira region’s general electricity supply. It is now completely out of service. Getting replacement parts is extremely difficult as the machinery is old and there are limits on what can enter NES due to the economic embargo. 13,000 cylinders of gas were produced per day previously. Qamishlo’s northern electricity station has two transformers. On two separate occasions Turkey conducted airstrikes on the station, rendering both transformers inoperable. In total, 2 million people are deprived of the general electricity supply. Hospitals, pharmacies, bakeries, and water pumping stations that rely on this supply are struggling. 76% of the AANES’ revenue comes from oil. Turkey’s strikes on oil infrastructure undermine the AANES’ economic base, setting the already-struggling region further backwards socioeconomically. Over 1/3rd of the budget is spent subsidizing fuel, bread, and medicine. Running schools and hospitals, post-conflict reconstruction, and maintenance of the electricity grid are also key AANES expenditures. Crises of gas, diesel, benzine, drinking water are expected, while Syria is in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the war began and the worst inflation in its history, with rapidly rising prices making basic goods unaffordable.