The statement added: "The churches of the world demand an end to it – an end to the suffering of the people. Enough fighting, chaos and death. It is time for peace, for respite, for dialogue, and for justice for the victims of atrocities perpetrated through these catastrophic years of violence."

The WCC recalled that "the area under attack, governed by the ‘Self Administration of Northeast Syria’ (SANES), includes populations of Christians, Yazidis, Kurds, Arabs and other vulnerable groups that suffered grievously during the years of war. Many have already been displaced multiple times as they fled the fight in other parts of Syria towards the north-east, which had remained relatively secure and stable. But now even this refuge is being turned into a battlefield by the Turkish operation."