Update December 10 – Escalation in NES, Turkish/SNA assault threatens Kobane
DAANES reports that Tishreen Dam is out of service after Turkish/SNA strikes, depriving the Euphrates area of electricity
Highlights
– At least 31 civilians killed in past 48 hours during Turkey’s ongoing military offensive against Kurdish-led North and East Syria
– Turkish-backed forces seek to advance across Euphrates toward key Syrian Kurdish city Kobane
– Field executions of wounded individuals in a hospital by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) caught on camera, alongside other atrocities
Turkish and SNA offensive against North and East Syria (Kobane + Manbij)
-The SNA advance has reached the Qereqozak bridge and Tishreen dam across the Euphrates, backed by repeated airstrikes by the Turkish Armed Forces, according to the SDF and reporters on the ground
– Turkish-SNA advance has currently been halted at the Qereqozak bridge, with SDF sources reporting fierce fighting and ongoing clashes, with scores of deaths reported
– Advance is now threatened toward Kobane, Syrian Kurdish city which was the site of ISIS’ first defeat in 2014 and the inception of the USA’s partnership with Syrian Kurdish forces
– Turkey/SNA has reportedly taken control of Manbij, a multi-ethnic, Arab-majority city home to around 300,000 people which was governed by the Manbij Civil Council as part of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) following its 2016 liberation from ISIS control
– The SDF announced the second shoot-down of a Turkish armed drone in the past 24 hours
– The US remains in ‘close contact’ with Turkey over the safe withdrawal of SDF forces from Manbij, White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, stated
-SDF Commander-in-Chief, Mazloum Abdi, stated that the SDF seeks to reduce escalation and is communicating with Turkey through the US
Deaths and civilian cost of Turkish military operations
– At least 31 civilians killed in past 48 hours during Turkey’s ongoing military offensive
– Turkish drone strike near Ayn Issa kills 12 civilians (including 6 children); Turkish/SNA shelling on Kun Aftar village (Kobane) kills 2 children; Turkish drone strike kills 1 civilian, injures 2 near Zirgan; Turkish drone strike injures 3 civilians near Zirgan; Turkish drone strike in Safia village (Ayn Issa) kills 8 civilians including 2 children; Turkish/SNA shelling on Jadah kills 2 civilians (1 child), injures 2 children.
“There are no strikes here at present, only one drone attack on Mishtenur [hill in central Kobane], two hours ago. But it’s very tense.” – NGO employee, Kobane city
– Three female members of Arab women’s union Zenobia were also reportedly killed by Turkish strikes in Manbij
– Reports of widespread looting targeting the property of tens of thousands of Kurds living in Manbij, with some caught on camera
– Turkish/SNA attacks on Tishreen dam could result in “widespread flooding, catastrophic human losses, destruction of hundreds of villages… infrastructure, and private and public property,” DAANES warned
-The DAANES later reported that the Euphrates area is experiencing widespread power outages due to Turkey/SNA attack putting the Tishreen dam out of service
Three members of Arab women’s union Zenobia, reportedly killed in Turkish strikes on Manbij.
Reported atrocities by SNA
– Footage recorded in a hospital in Manbij following its capture by the SNA shows two severely wounded men being shot dead in their hospital beds by SNA combatants – the men executed in the video are one SDF and one SAA member, being treated in the main hospital of Manbij
– Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports ‘dozens’ such executions in the hospital
– Captured combatants and civilians in Manbij are being interrogated as to their ethnic identity, footage shows, with at least one other field execution caught on camera
– Footage from elsewhere in the country shows the field execution of former SAA members, reportedly conducted by both HTS and other armed groups participating in the anti-Assad uprising, alongside reports of instances of violence against civilians in HTS-held areas
Displaced and encircled Kurds
– Humanitarian situation remains grave for the primarily Kurdish Shehba and Aleppo residents, forcibly displaced into DAANES territory following the Turkish-backed SNA’s assault on Shehba
– OCHA reports 185 schools in Raqqa, Heseke, and Tabqa have been repurposed as shelters for IDPs, disrupting education for nearly 185,000 students
-Meanwhile, a total of 4,500 families have departed from Tabqa and arrived in NES’ Jazira canton, spread across 23 emergency support centers
-The Violations Documentation Center reported that 15 Shehba residents who returned to their native Afrin upon the SNA’s offensive into Shehba were arrested upon their return, their whereabouts still unknown
-OCHA reports that the food security situation in north-east Syria is also worsening due to the large influx of displaced populations. Many families are struggling to access adequate food, leading to increased vulnerability
– Over one million people have been displaced across Syria as a whole
-The situation for 100,000+ Kurdish civilians encircled by HTS inside Aleppo city remains calm but tense, with SDF Commander-in-Chief, Mazloum Abdi, confirming that talks are ongoing between HTS and SDF/DAANES
Shehba IDPs in Tabqa camp
Tensions in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor
– Tribal leader Ibrahim al-Hafl who previously launched attacks on the SDF and NES declared his support for HTS, while leader Abu al-Harith (formerly affiliated with the SDF’s local military council) likewise declared his support for other opposition forces
-Other tribal leaders in crucial Deir ez-Zor region have reaffirmed their commitment to the SDF
– Tensions continue in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, with SDF imposing a curfew amid some pro-HTS protests
– The DAANES announced a general amnesty throughout NES, following on from its decision to release all prisoners captured by the SAA in Deir ez-Zor
– SDF Commander-in-Chief, Mazloum Abdi, told al-Hadath: “The areas we moved to were for the purpose of combating ISIS,” in reference to the SDF’s move across the Euphrates river into Deir ez-Zor city and surroundings. “The issues occurring in Raqqa must be resolved through dialogue.”
Israeli and Turkish airstrikes on NES and HTS territory
-On December 9, Qamishlo city witnessed a string of airstrikes. Initial reports suggested that the strikes were from Israel and targeted SAA ammunition depots and military warehouse, as part of a broader wave of 300+ overnight airstrikes
– Turkish intelligence services have claimed at least some of the overnight strikes in Qamishlo, sharing aerial footage of the attacks
RIC is on-the-ground in NES and available to provide comment, photos and videos, and contact to IDPs, political representatives and humanitarian personnel for comment. Get in touch via e-mail: [email protected] or on WhatsApp or Signal: +963 992 461 683.
