The increasingly intense attacks on Ain Issa by NATO partner Turkey and its SNA (Syrian National Army) auxiliary troops point to a new war against northern Syria in favor of the jihadists. For exactly one month, the attacks on villages and settlements from Ain Issa to Girê Spî (Tal Abyad) have been increasing in intensity. Several attempts to circumvent the positions of the local military council and infiltrate the region have been thwarted by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The Turkish state's efforts to expand the illegal occupation zone in northern Syria have above all had a devastating effect on the lives of the civilian population, who are once again being forced to flee and must now constantly fear arbitrary bombings, kidnappings and summary executions, says Erdal Kobanê, SDF commander on the Ain Issa front.

According to Kobanê, Turkey and its jihadist allies constantly violate all international law of war. "Meanwhile, artillery attacks of the occupation troops target residential areas on daily basis, as well as the area of the camp for displaced persons in Ain Issa. Parallel to these indiscriminate attacks, the occupation troops are installing new positions and digging protective trenches," says Kobanê. One of these military posts is being built in the vicinity of the camp in Ain Issa. The camp, which was built by the SDF in 2016, is home to around 14,000 people. IDPs live in one section, IS Jihadists and their relatives are interned in another section.

Other positions are also being built in the village of Erdîa near Girê Spî and along the front lines between the occupied and SDF-controlled areas near Til Temir, Zirgan and Serêkaniyê. According to Erdal Kobanê, the attacks also target directly the economy of Rojava. Furthermore, heavy weapons continue to be stationed at several points along the M4 highway. By taking this highway, which is a key part of Turkey's occupation plans, especially because of its relative proximity to the city of Raqqa and thus to the gate to Deir ez-Zor, Ankara would come closer to its neo-Ottoman dreams of extending Turkey's external borders to all other cities in the border strip and transporting oil from Kirkuk and Deir ez-Zor to the Mediterranean Sea.