Turkish regime killing Syrian refugees, other civilians

Injured child in Afrin, Syria

Translated from Dutch NOS TV, 23 January 2018:

On the fourth day of the Turkish bombing of Afrin, residents send messages into the world. Afrin is a Kurdish enclave with about 320,000 people in the northeast of Syria, on the southern border of Turkey.

One of the residents of Afrin with whom the NOS has contact is Jovin: “The situation in the region is terrible: the Turks bomb the city, villages along the border and a refugee camp, where civilians are their targets.”

According to Jovin, the citizens of Afrin are very combative. They try to defend their town and the villages around it, together with the Kurdish militia YPG.

Last Saturday Turkey, together with fractions of the Free Syrian Army, started Operation Olive Branch. Turkish aircraft bombed, among other places, Afrin. …

The UN reports that around 5,000 people have been displaced by the bombing by the Turkish armed forces. …

According to Jovin, the Turkish army carried out a bombardment of a refugee camp the day before yesterday. “Turkish warplanes have been slaughtering there, ten civilians have been killed, seven of them are from one family, most of whom are children, this family has fled the Idlib region, the father is still alive and is being treated in a hospital.” This message is confirmed by a doctor in the Afrin hospital.

Yesterday Turkish planes, according to Jovin, have also carried out bombings on the village of Rajo, in the vicinity of Afrin. Eight civilians are said to have been injured.

Temple

Also the bombers are said to have attacked areas on the eastern side of Afrin. One of the targets is said to have been the archaeological excavation Ain Dara. At this location are the remains of a temple that was built about a thousand years before our era. …

A cry for help by Dr Issa comes from the Afrin hospital: “The situation is serious, the Turkish planes bomb men, women and children, they bombed much of the hills yesterday, causing 15 deaths, most of whom were children. They had fled from Aleppo and now they have died here in a bombing.” …

“They are attacking us with heavy weapons and with bombs, why does Turkey do that with people fighting against ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra?”