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Turkey Expands Strikes on SDF in Northern Syria

People take part in a funeral in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. AFP
People take part in a funeral in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. AFP
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Turkey Expands Strikes on SDF in Northern Syria

People take part in a funeral in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. AFP
People take part in a funeral in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. AFP

Turkey has expanded the scope of its attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in north and northeastern Syria.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced the launch of a military operation, dubbed Winter Eagle, targeting the positions of the SDF and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, pledging to continue the attack until the “last terrorist” is eliminated.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the airstrikes targeted training camps, shelters and ammunition depots, adding that the raids were part of an ongoing Turkish campaign in Syria and Iraq against the PKK militants and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Akar said the strikes were successful, confirming the killing of many “terrorists”.

The Ministry of Defense stated that all the aircraft participating in Winter Eagle returned to their bases, but did not provide any information about casualties. Akar noted that Turkey was closely following the results of the operation and that its final outcome would be revealed soon.

Media sources close to the SDF said that Turkish drones conducted around ten air raids on separate areas of the provinces of Al-Hasakeh and Raqqa in northeastern Syria, in conjunction with dozens of raids launched deep inside Iraq against the PKK.

They added that a Turkish drone had targeted, early Wednesday, a power station and an oil installation in the city of Al-Malikiyah (Derik), in the far northeast of Syria, in addition to raids on the village of Taqlabqal in the same area, hours after the Turkish warplanes bombed the city of Ain al-Arab (Kobani).

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that at least four people were killed in the Turkish airstrikes on the power station near the city of Al-Malikiyah in Al-Hasakeh countryside, adding that the death toll was likely to rise because of serious injuries. The bombing caused a power outage in some surrounding villages.

The Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria accused Turkey of trying to destabilize its areas.

In a statement, the Administration said that the escalation constituted “a clear declaration of Turkey’s dissatisfaction with the failure incurred by the terrorist organization (ISIS) in Al-Hasakeh,” referring to the attack by members of the organization on Ghweran prison last month.

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Arab World

Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
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Israel Wants to Set up Buffer Zone in Southern Lebanon Until Army Is Deployed

Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)
Smoke rise next to damaged buildings on an area of a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Kibbutz Manara, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP)

The Israeli army has been preventing the residents of southern Lebanon’s villages from returning to their homes, warning them against going back.

In a statement to the residents, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said they are barred from returning home “until further notice.”

He warned that anyone heading to the barred areas would be putting their lives in danger.

However, the majority of the villages and towns mentioned by the Israeli army are located north of the Litani River.

A security sources said the army’s warning “is confusing and unacceptable, especially since it is continuing its razing of agricultural lands in Khiam city and other villages near the border.”

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The only explanation for this is that Israel is trying to impose a buffer zone in the 60-day period offered by the ceasefire until the Lebanese army and United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers can continue their deployment along the southern border and the monitoring committee can begin its work.”

The Israeli actions are a violation of the ceasefire, which went into effect on Wednesday, added the source.

The violations demand immediate political effort sand contacts with US officials so that they can put a stop to them and speed up the formation of the five-member committee that will be chaired by an American officer, he stated.

Military and strategic expert General Nizar Abdel Qader said: “Israel’s gains on the ground and its success in imposing its conditions in the ceasefire agreement have led it to believe that it has the final say” in the South.

“True, it did not achieve a crushing victory against Hezbollah, but it proved its military superiority and achieved major gains,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.”

“It is preventing the residents of the South from returning home because it fears that Hezbollah members may be among them. It has learned lessons from its withdrawal from the South in 2000 when Hezbollah imposed its total and sole control of the border,” he remarked.

“It also learned its lesson from its withdrawal in 2006 when it let the Lebanese state oversee the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and soon after Hezbollah built a much more powerful military arsenal,” he noted.

Moreover, Abdel Qader said the Israeli violations cannot be separated from what is happening in Israel itself. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believed that it was too soon to declare a ceasefire and he instead said that Israel did not stop the war and can launch it all over again.

The violations in the South are part of political maneuvers that Netanyahu is using to hide his “embarrassment in front of the Israeli opposition and are attempts to calm the extremist ministers in his government,” he explained.

Residents of the South have acknowledged that Israel is in fact dictating their return to their homes. They said that Hezbollah was the one who called the shots in 2006, but this is not the case now.

Sami, a resident of Yohmor north of the Litani, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel has been relentlessly attacking his town.

It is dangerous for people to return to their homes, he warned, revealing that Israel has imposed a no-go zone 5 km deep into Lebanon.

Israel has so far not fulfilled its side of the ceasefire, he noted.