Turkey kills SDF commander who worked as coordinator with International Coalition

The Turkish state is carrying out new attacks in northern and eastern Syria. In one of the attacks, in the countryside of Haseke, a Turkish drone killed a senior Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander who worked as a coordinator with the International Coalition.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that a Turkish drone struck an SDF commander in Haseke shortly after he left his home in the Autonomous Administration-controlled area, resulting in the commander’s death. A child and a woman were also reportedly wounded in the strike. According to the ANHA news agency, the Turkish army also shelled a house in the town of Derik in the Qamislo canton, also injuring a woman and a child.

The SOHR said there was a high state of alert in the area and ambulances were seen rushing to the targeted area. It also said that the SDF commander had previously survived an assassination attempt by a Turkish drone. The SOHR report goes on to say that since the beginning of 2023, the number of Turkish drone strikes on areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration in northern and northeastern Syria has risen to 92. Turkish strikes have killed 76 people and injured more than 84 others. Dozens of civilians were among the dead and wounded, the Observatory said, adding that women and children were also killed in the attacks.

In early October, the Turkish state launched massive air strikes on northern and eastern Syria described by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the ‘first phase’. The Autonomous Administration said the strikes had severely damaged 80% of the region’s infrastructure and warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis if the attacks continued. However, the Turkish parliament has extended the mandate for attacks on Syria for another two years and the Turkish authorities continue to threaten further attacks on the region.