10 days of Operation “Peace Spring”: Turkey controls an area equivalent to a quarter of the size of Lebanon. Turkish-backed factions continue its violations and breach the “ceasefire”, and the death toll among the “SDF”, the regime, Turkish forces and factions loyal to it rises to 449
October 2019
Although US Vice President Mike Pence announced a ceasefire in northern Syria in a deal with Turkey, to ceasefire for 120-hour until the YPG withdrew from the border areas; the situation in northern Syria remains volatile as clashes and shelling continue. In Ras al-Ain, on the tenth day of Operation “Peace Spring” launched by Turkey on the afternoon of Wednesday, 9 October, fierce clashes between the SDF and the Turkish-backed factions continue on axes in the eastern countryside of Ras al-Ain and Derbasiyah, in an ongoing offensive since the early hours of the morning, after Turkey removed the border wall opposite to the village of “al-Shukaria” east of Ras al-Ain and the entry of Turkish-backed factions across it. The Syrian Observatory monitored the entry of dozens of members of Turkish-backed factions into the village of “al-Shukaria”, along with five tanks, and took control of the villages of al-Shukria, Haji Hasso and Jan Tamr, amid overflights above the area.
Turkey’s operation displaces 300 thousand civilians, 86 civilian casualties in 10 days, and Turkish-backed factions prevent medical teams from evacuating the injured in “Ras al-Ain”
Since the early hours of Wednesday morning, October 9, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has monitored the displacement of civilians from different parts of the Euphrates region, fleeing the Turkish military operation in the area. According to the statistics of the “Observatory”, the number of displaced exceeded 300 thousand civilians displaced from their towns, cities and villages, where the movement of civilians continues from their areas in Tal Abyad, Ras Al-Ain, Darbasiyah, Ain Al Arab, Ain Issa and other areas east of the Euphrates at the border with Turkey. According to Syrian Observatory statistics Human rights, the number of displaced people exceeded 300 thousand civilians toward the depth of the region, amid the difficult humanitarian situation in the region due to the huge numbers of displaced persons, in addition to the lack of water in al-Hassakah, and the outage of power stations due to shelling and clashes. According to sources of the SOHR, several cities, towns and villages are completely depopulated.
Over the course of a 10 days of the Turkish military operation known as the “”Peace Spring,” 86 civilians fall victim to the indiscriminate shelling and battles waged by Turkey on northern Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the number of civilians killed since the beginning of the Turkish military operation has risen to 86, including 21 children, a party official and two citizens due to being shot dead and field execution by Turkish-backed factions on the highway south of Tal Abyad and areas north of Ain Issa. In addition, 33 were killed by Turkish airstrikes targeting the city of Ras al-Ain and its environs. A child was killed in the shelling on the perimeter and the countryside of Ras Al-Ain area in Hasakah countryside, 4 killed by Turkish air strikes on the village of Al-Bajiya in Tal Abyad area, 3 by sniper in Tal Abyad, a girl in shelling targeting al-Qahtaniya countryside, and a man by a Turkish sniper in the city Al-Derbasiyah. Also, a woman was killed by a Turkish sniper in al-Qamishli city, a man due to Turkish missile shelling on the outskirts of “Qasr Deeb” village in al-Malikiyah countryside. In terms of targeting civilians, Turkish warplanes bombed a humanitarian support convoy in Ras al-Ain, which arrived from Tel Tamr, which included foreign and local journalists, killing 19 people, 15 of them were civilians, including a female citizen and 2 local reporters. In addition, 2 civilians were killed in bombing by the Turkish-backed factions on the village of Alvarat north of the city of Manbij.
It seems that the pro-Ankara factions not only prevented the Kurdish Red Crescent convoy and an American humanitarian organization from entering the city of Ras al-Ain (Sri Kanye), but they also blocked the road behind them, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the convoy is stuck up to the moment on the road between the village of “al-Safah” and the city of Ras al-Ain after blocking the way back by the factions, they cannot now –i.e. the convoy- progress towards Ras al-Ain or return. Accordingly, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights calls upon all concerned and the international community to immediately intervene to open the way for medical teams and evacuate the wounded, and to ensure that massacres against humanity are not committed after the road has been closed and medical teams are prevented from leaving and evacuating the wounded from the area of engagement. The Syrian Observatory learned that six people died in Ras al-Ain city due to their wounds sustained by military operations in the city after the Turkish-backed factions prevented the medical teams from entering the city to evacuate the wounded despite the US-Turkish agreement. The number of wounded in the city among civilians and fighters is 38 people, 6 of whom died. According to Syrian Observatory’s sources, part of the Kurdish Red Crescent medical convoy and an American humanitarian organization returned to Tal Tamr, while the rest of the convoy is still waiting to enter Ras al-Ain to evacuate the wounded. Meanwhile, the city is exposed to intermittent shelling by the Turkish forces on the SDF positions.
Turkey now controls an area equivalent to a quarter of the size of Lebanon; Turkish-backed factions continue its violations, and the death toll rises among both sided
Over the course of 10 days, the Syrian Observatory monitored the progress of the Turkish forces and their affiliated factions with intensive air and ground cover in a total area of 2,419 km 2, which is equivalent to one quarter of the area of Lebanon, namely: Tal Abyad city, villages of Selouk, Mazra’at Al-Hammadi, Abu Qabr, Mazra’at al-Massihi, Hamida, Al-Mahdah, Dadat, Al-Yabsah, Al-Mushrifah, Tel-Fender, Bir-Asheq, Al-Tuwaraziyah, Zakah, Huwairan, Al-Wasta, Al-Ghajer, Shokan, Al-Khaldia, Al-Arida, Nabhan, Um Al-Garn, Ghazil, Al-Hawi, Tabbin, Al-Suwayn, Jamous Filo, Al-Zaidi, Al-Droubiyah, Ain Al-Arous, Tel Antar, Al-Badi, Jassem Al-Ali in Tal Abyad. Turkey also now controls Mabrouka town, and the villages of Kantari, Wadha, Twigel, Alouk, Keshtu, Aksas, Tal Khanzeer, Al Azizia, Baloja, Abu Al-Saoun, Hweish Al-Nasser, Al-Naim, Sahaleya, Libya, Tal Al-Banat, Kajo, Al-Mada’in and Nahih in Ras Al-Ain. Meanwhile, Ras al-Ain is still under Turkish fire despite the announcement of the ceasefire.
As a result of the continuous battels, the death toll among the Syria Democratic Forces, military councils and internal security forces since the start of the Turkish military operation on Wednesday afternoon have risen to 239. The SOHR also documented the death of 5 members of the regime forces as a result of a missile targeting by the Turkish-backed factions. Meanwhile, the number of deaths among Syrian factions loyal to Ankara and the pro-Turkey cells killed in the attacks and clashes with the SDF during the same period reached 196, including 21 of the cells loyal to Ankara killed in clashes with the SDF, in addition to 9 Turkish soldiers were killed during the battels, amid information about more dead Turks on the Turkish-Syrian border, and the number of those killed is likely to rise due to the high number of wounded, some of them in serious cases.
According to reliable sources, the Turkish-backed factions are still continuing to rampage within the areas they controlled in Tal Abyad at the border strip in the northern Raqqa countryside, where groups of factions have stolen homes and ransacked their contents after the displacement of its people as a result of the “Peace Spring”, in addition to burning homes and the theft of livestock, which brings back to memory the practices of the factions during the control of Afrin, the rampaging of the property of the people and the ongoing violations to date. In turn, the SOHR continues to monitor the violations of the factions, where reliable sources confirmed that Turkish-backed factions abducted an elderly citizen, her husband and a child in the village of “Gaida” in Tal Abyad, and the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 10 million Syrian pounds in order to set them free. It is noteworthy to mention that 5 members of the elderly family were killed in the area before by the same factions.