(RFI) According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around 200,000 Syrian Kurds are “besieged by pro-Turkish factions”. They have advanced towards Tell-Rifaat and several neighboring villages in northern Aleppo, which were controlled by Kurdish forces in the province.
The enclave, located 20 kilometers from Turkey, was already in the sights of the Ankara Army, which was threatening to occupy it. On Monday morning, Kurdish forces announced that they were mobilizing to remove Kurdish civilians living in the area.
“We are actively coordinating with Syria to ensure the safety of our people and facilitate their safe transfer from the Tell-Rifaat region to our safe areas in the north of the country,” said Mazloum Abdi, head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
“I fear for my family”
RFI’s correspondent in Iraqi Kurdistan, Lucas Lazo, spoke to Shiler, the leader of a local NGO. He fears for the fate of his family.
“Turkish-backed opposition groups have attacked Kurdish areas that are home to thousands of people displaced from the city of Afrin, territory already occupied by Turkey and its Islamist allies in the region,” he said.
According to him, the attacks were violent in Tell-Rifaat. “Everyone is in the area, including my parents, my family, my brother. People are trapped and defenseless, without any protection. The children are scared. Hundreds of people are waiting in their cars, ready to flee,” he says.
According to the NGO representative, the main road has been blocked and the Kurds are waiting for it to reopen in order to move to a safer area. The population is without internet and electricity.
“The Kurdish forces are defending the area, but the situation is getting worse and the attacks are becoming more and more violent. We fear a massacre. This has happened before,” he recalls.
Jihadists have taken over four airports
The jihadists and rebels have also taken almost the entire province of Idlib. They continue to advance south of Aleppo, where they have seized four airports, including an international one, according to a report by Beirut correspondent Paul Khalifeh.
The Syrian Army and its Russian ally have reinforced their defense lines in Hama, in the center, where large reinforcements have been sent. The Syrian Chief of Staff went to the front in this region, where his troops claim to have halted the jihadist and rebel offensive and retaken seven locations.
Russian aviation is concentrating its activity in this area, which was the target of dozens of attacks on Sunday, in an attempt to slow down the advance of fighters from the anti-government coalition.
The Russian army, which has a large air base in Hmeimim, in the coastal province of Latakia, is fully engaged in this battle. The Syrian president, who received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Damascus on Sunday, stressed the importance of the “support of allies” in dealing with “terrorist attacks”.