The Turkish army and its jihadist proxy forces are continuing to attack the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria. Civilian settlements and the infrastructure in Ain Issa were the focus of numerous bombardments on Saturday. Most of the strikes were recorded on the edge of the M4 international transport route, which runs through northern Syria like a lifeline and represents a strategic supply route.

According to security sources, the villages of Xalidiyê, Hoşan and Mestûra to the west of Ain Issa were initially bombarded. The occupying forces then shelled the village and the Nexil service area and various points on the M4 to the east of Ain Issa. Shells also hit the area around the nearby grain silos. It is still unclear whether any people were injured as a result of the attacks.

Further attacks by the occupation forces were directed against the villages of Xerbet Şealê and Şewarxa in the Shera district of occupied Afrin.

Ain Issa is located south of the Turkish occupation zone and is of strategic importance as a link between the self-governing regions of the Euphrates with Kobanê at its centre and Cizîrê. Since 2019, the city has been in the crosshairs of Turkey and its Islamist proxy forces as part of a war of attrition. Dozens of villages in the region have already been destroyed and depopulated by Turkish military violence. A Turkish air offensive in November 2022 reduced large parts of the infrastructure to rubble. Last Thursday, a sixteen-year-old girl suffered a serious foot injury during the bombing of Ain Issa.