Turkey’s crimes against humanity in Afrin

“Turkey is recruiting and retraining ISIS fighters to lead its invasion on the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria. Turkey’s campaign against Afrin has already resulted in the deaths of 180 civilians so far.”

The Diplomatic Relations Center of Kongreya Star published an information file about the Turkish state’s crimes against humanity in Afrin Canton of Northern Syria amid attacks of invasion ongoing since January 20.

Highlights from the detailed report are as follows;

THE TURKISH ARMY IS COMMITTING A HORRIFIC MASSACRE AGAINST KURDS

On 20 January, the Turkish state together with Salafist groups launched a military assault against the Kurdish region of Afrin/North-Syria.

Turkey’s campaign against Afrin has already resulted in the deaths of 180 civilians, many of them women and children. What was formerly a stable region within war-ravaged Syria is now targeted day and night by a NATO army.

TURKEY COLLABORATES WITH TERRORISTS OF ISIS, JABHAT AL-NUSRA & AL-QAIDA IN THE ATTACK ON AFRIN

Turkey is recruiting and retraining ISIS fighters to lead its invasion on the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria.

TURKEY IS USING ILLEGAL WEAPONS AGAINST CIVILIANS

Turkey is using weapons such as NAPALM and Cluster-Bombs on civilians which are banned internationally by the United Nations’ Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

TURKEY IS BOMBING SCHOOLS, BAKERIES AND WATER STATIONS

The attack on educational centers in Afrin province is a flagrant violation of human rights. Bakeries in the center of Afrin were destroyed and the water station that feeds Afrin with water and electricity was bombed as well.

TURKEY’S OCCUPATION IN AFRIN IS RESULTING IN A NEW HUMANITARIAN REFUGEE CRISIS

Hundreds of thousands of refugees (IDPs) who have found a sanctuary in the region are once again faced with death and starvation, resulting in a new humanitarian refugee crisis and massacres.

TURKEY`S AGGRESSION IS AN ATTEMPT AT ETHNIC CLEANSING

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan incessantly refers to a project to return Afrin to "the real owners of the area". Erdogan`s actions — especially concocting plans to change the demographic structure of the area are the signal for that.

TURKISH WARPLANES BOMB HISTORICAL SITES

Turkey, not satisfied with killing civilians, has now started erasing what is left of the history in Northern Syria. Turkish war-jets destroyed the 3,000-year-old Hittite temple complex of Ain Dara.

TURKEY IS DESTROYING PEACEFUL LIFE IN AFRIN

Since the war in Syria started in 2011, Afrin has been among the safest areas of the devastated country. Afrin has been a shelter for Yezidis, Christians, Alevis, as well as Muslims from all ethnic backgrounds.

TURKEY IS VIOLATING INTERNATIONAL LAW AND BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS

International experts and institutions are seeing Turkeys attack in Afrin as: Crimes against humanity, serious violations of international law, Aggression and an attempt to commit genocide.

THE WORLD CAN’T STAY NUMB TO THE KILLING OF CHILDREN BY THE TURKISH REGIME IN AFRIN

In Turkey’s war against Kurds, children continue to be hit the hardest by unprecedented destruction, displacement and death. They have lost their lives, homes and childhood.

The United Nations Human Rights and Children’s Rights organizations have to take firm positions to stop the Turkish attacks.

DO NOT SACRIFICE KURDS IN A FURTHER GENOCIDE FOR YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH TURKEY.

On 20/1/2018 morning, the Turkish government attacked the Afrin area of Rojava/north Syria, using all the military arsenal of the Turkish army, to bomb the safe villages and towns of Afrin, breaking the Syrian state sovereignty and bypassing all the international laws and norms, under the pretext of attacking terrorist sites as they said.

While the reality is contrary to what they do, that they indiscriminately bombard the safe population, leaving victims most of them are from civilians. The bombing continues in front of eyes of the world, striking all international laws and human rights without any moving from the international community and the security council to stop these aggressions and massacres.

The aim of the Turkish government is to destroy the infrastructure of the region by targeting populated houses and committing massacres to intimidate and displace the people.

The women in Afrin didn't stop idly in the face of the international silence, and they see the Turkish war machine violating the sanctity of their homes and destroying and killing their children, but they do everything they have to do, and draining all their energies to participate in the deterrence of the brutal aggression, whether by carrying weapons alongside men in battlefields, leaving their children to join the fighters in defending their land and dignity, or by preparing food for fighters on the frontlines as a kind of moral support and a reference to their participation in the resistance of the time.

There are dozens of children who have been victims of the Turkish attack on Afrin in addition to the loss of dozens of women.

Afrin Hospital’s report on the wounded and martyrs, because of the Turkish bombardment on Afrin from 20/01/2018 until 10/02/2018:

Wounded persons (205)

Martyrs (132)

Overall wounded persons (403)

Overall martyrs (150 names available of 180 killed civilians)

Afrin Districts’ report on the wounded and martyrs because of the Turkish bombardment on Afrin from 20/01/2018 until 10/02/2018:

Overall wounded persons (409) (301 men, 63 women and 45 children)

Overall martyrs (154) (111 men, 17 women and 26 children)