Lokman Ehmê, spokesperson for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), spoke to ANF about Turkey's airstrikes. According to Ehmê, the bombing follows a planned staging: "The Turkish state constantly attacks to distract from the crisis at home. First comes the planning, then comes the attack. This sequence is understandable if we remember the words of MIT chief Hakan Fidan. In 2014, Fidan said it was easy to find a pretext for war in northern Syria. He could simply send two people to the other side of the border to fire missiles at Turkey. Such pretexts are meant to legitimise the attacks."

Ehmê stressed that the attacks on northern and eastern Syria were an initiative to revive ISIS: "It should be clear to the whole world that these are not normal attacks. The Turkish state can live with ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front, but normal systems cannot. There are dozens of examples of this. The Turkish wave of attacks is a revenge campaign for ISIS, an initiative to revive ISIS."

"DAMASCUS MUST PROTECT THE COUNTRY’S BORDERS”

Another goal, Ehmê said, was to prevent Syrian tribes from supporting AANES. A meeting of tribal representatives is planned for today in Hesekê to discuss support for the autonomous administration and military defence, Ehmê explained, pointing out that a state of emergency has been declared in the region for some time:

"The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the entire region is in a state of emergency anyway. Accordingly, we have made preparations. The population is behind the SDF and the autonomous administration. The fact that the Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, Armenian and Assyrian population groups have united under the umbrella of the autonomous administration is the best response to the attacks of the Turkish regime. The people and the SDF will respond to this aggression."

The AANES spokesperson also called on the Syrian government to act: "These attacks should also be a warning to the government in Damascus. The country cannot be protected only with statements; this requires a will. The government in Damascus must protect the borders as agreed with the SDF. The peoples of Syria must also resist the Turkish state's desire to occupy the whole country through north-eastern Syria."