On 25 December, the occupying Turkish army carried out dozens of attacks against North-East Syria with 7 warplanes and 33 unmanned aerial vehicles. The aggression was mainly directed against Qamishlo, but also targeted the cities of Amude, Kobane, and Tirbespiye. Nine people were killed and 13 people were injured in the attacks carried out by the Turkish state against civilian settlements, service buildings and infrastructure.

Thousands of people in Qamishlo took to the streets in protest at the attacks of the occupying Turkish state against North and East Syria.

Cizre Canton Executive Council Co-Chair Talet Yunis made a speech during the protest march which was organized under the motto "You cannot break our will by attacks and siege".

Yunis said, "Today, our resilient people are in action, telling the enemy that no one can break their will."

Speaking on behalf of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Sema Begdaş said, "The Turkish state has failed against the historical resistance of the region’s people led by women. This is why it is carrying out genocidal attacks against North-East Syria."

Ferhan El Hesen, a member of the Assembly of Opinion Leaders of North and East Syria, emphasised that the Kurdish, Arab and Syriac components of the region will remain in unity against the attacks.

Background

At the beginning of October, Turkey embarked on a 5-day airstrike assault, systematically hitting North-East Syria’s electricity, gas and oil facilities, causing extensive infrastructural and economic damage and worsening the already-fragile humanitarian situation in North-East Syria.

On the 23rd of December, in the mountains of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the guerrillas Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) conducted operations against Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) positions, killing at least 12 Turkish soldiers; Turkish President Erdogan referred to the attacks as “terrorist” and vowed revenge. On the night of the 23rd, the TAF proceeded to strike oil and gas infrastructure sites in North-East Syria, cutting power from electrical substations serving half the Jazira canton and injuring one civilian. The Turkish Ministry of Defence announced these airstrikes were “against terrorist targets” for the purpose of “border security”.

Two days later, Turkey carried out an intense string of airstrikes from 10:00 until 21:00 local time, mostly focused on Qamishlo city but also including the cities of Amude, Kobane, and Tirbespiye, systematically targeting more essential civilian infrastructure, this time hitting factories producing construction materials, agricultural products and foods, as well as grain silos, a mill, industrial sites, a dialysis center and a petrol station.

North and East Syria’s political and military leaders have long emphasised that the political and military institutions in their region are separate from the PKK – contrary to Turkey’s claims – and now accuse Turkey of “exporting its internal crises” and conducting airstrikes to deliberately create instability and target the Democratic Autonomous Administration.