drone attack
Turkey: Airstrikes against Kurdish militias in Syria and Iraq
Soldiers from the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army take part in a military exercise in Aleppo governorate in extreme winter weather. Photo: Anas Alkharboutli/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Turkey is taking action against Kurdish militias in Syria and Iraq. Four people die, many injured. In Germany there are doubts that the attacks are compatible with international law.
Turkey says it has bombed positions of Kurdish militias in northern Syria and northern Iraq in a new air offensive. Among other things, shelters and ammunition depots were hit, the Ministry of Defense in Ankara said on Wednesday.
At least four people were killed in north-eastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, the military operation was directed against the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and against the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria, both of which Turkey classifies as terrorist organizations. Ankara justified the air strikes in neighboring countries with self-defense. In Europe and the USA, only the PKK is on the terror list. The Kurdish militias in Syria, on the other hand, are allies of the United States in the fight against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).
Drone attack on power plant
The four people were killed during the night as a result of a drone attack on a power plant in the northeast Syrian city of Derik, the observatory said. There are also numerous injuries. Near the power plant there are positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish militia YPG. Due to the attack, the electricity in the surrounding villages failed.
Turkey has repeatedly conducted military operations against the PKK in Iraq and against the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria. In the past, the scientific service of the Bundestag had doubted whether similar missions were compatible with international law.
The headquarters of the PKK is in the northern Iraqi Kandil Mountains. Ankara has repeatedly taken military action against their positions in south-eastern Turkey. The PKK, in turn, carries out attacks.
The conflict, which has been going on since 1984, has so far claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. A ceasefire failed in the summer of 2015.