While countless people in North Kurdistan, Turkey and Syria have not yet received any aid after the earthquake on 6 February and countless bodies still lie under the rubble, the Turkish state continues its military aggression against Rojava. On Sunday, the villages of Umm al-Keyf and Gozeliyê near Til Temir were shelled by artillery.

Despite the cessation of military activities by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) due to the earthquake, more than a dozen attacks by the Turkish army and its mercenaries on the North and East Syrian Region (AANES) followed the earthquake. A balance sheet published on Saturday speaks of 18 Turkish artillery and two air raids since the earthquake. The attacks killed two civilians, including a 70-year-old earthquake survivor, and injured many.

"The Turkish state is abusing the cessation of our military activities"

SDF press spokesman Ferhad Şamî told the ANHA news agency: “The Turkish state is abusing our decision to stop military activities. At no time did they stop the war against our people and our regions. We have criticized the international powers in the region for their silence and we continue to do so. No doubt their silence encourages the Turkish state to continue its attacks.”

Şamî underlined how, even in this situation, the Turkish state is engaged in war, and added that the target of the attacks is occupying more regions, weakening the SDF and breaking people's hopes. The Syrian Democratic Forces had ceased all military activities and formed humanitarian aid units to rescue people from the rubble. The SDF declared that they are ready to carry out rescue operations in the areas occupied by Turkey and in the regions controlled by the regime.

Blockade is part of the warfare against the region

Both the Syrian regime and the Turkish state and its mercenary troops are blocking aid to be delivered to people in the earthquake areas in northern and eastern Syria. The transport of aid from the AANES to the self-governing districts of Aleppo, Şêxmeqsûd and Eşrefiyê and to the Turkish-occupied areas around Afrin and Idlib were blocked or hindered by the Turkish state and the regime in Damascus.