Turkey's attacks on North East Syria, which started with the Afrin Canton on January 20, 2018, continued with Serêkaniyê and Girê Spi on October 9, 2019. Turkey, which continues its operation in the Federated Kurdistan Region with chemical weapons attacks, once again started to threaten to attack Northern and Eastern Syria. The Turkish government, which was preparing for an attack, also extended President Erdogan's authority to operate across the border for two years.

 

Çiya Firat, one of the commanders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made evaluations to the Fırat News Agency (ANF) about Turkey's threats. Stating that Turkey is perpetually attacking civilians, Firat said, “Many of our people were martyred as a result of the bombings of the Turkish state's warplanes and tanks in Serêkaniye, Girê Spî and Afrin. In Til Temir, Zirgan and Eyn Îsa, 6 civilians were martyred in the last months, four of them were children. Houses were destroyed. That is why we say that the Turkish state is the enemy of our people. The Turkish state is hostile against our people and wants to leave our people defenseless. This is the main reason for their attacks on our forces."

 

'WE WILL PROTECT OUR PEOPLE'

 

Noting that they are fighting against ISIS with International Coordination, Firat said that they continue their joint work. Fırat said, “If the forces we are fighting against ISIS together stop the attacks of the Turkish state and put a limit on their threats, this would be the right attitude. We believe in our military forces, our commanders. They are brave and selfless. This is how they are known all over the world. They set an example in the war against terrorism. Our military forces will act within the framework of self-defense and protect our Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian people. We are prepared to protect our people."

 

ATTACKS AGAINST THE PEOPLE

 

Emphasizing that Turkey's attacks are aimed at the civillian people, Fırat said, "Turkish state thinks SDF and the civillian people are the same thing. The people left the places where SDF left. The people migrated. A small number of our people are living under persecution in there. They are kidnapped and tortured every day. There are examples of it in Afrin, Girê Spî and Serêkaniyê. For this reason, we say that the war of the Turkish state is a war against our people. Our people realized this and do not leave their homes. Just as they stood by our forces before, they will now stand against Turkish attacks and play their part. The role of our people is not to take arms. Of course, weapons are important and necessary, but our struggle is multidimensional. That's what we expect from our people."

 

AIRSPACE SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN

 

Stating that they are prepared for Turkey's attacks, Fırat said: "We believe in our forces, they will be able to protect themselves against the invading Turkish state's. We trained our forces technically and ideologically. We have a very experienced force. So far, the airspace has not been closed to Turkish planes. We do not know if it will be closed. With every attack by Turkey, ISIS revives and increases its attacks. The international forces must close the airspace to prevent this. We say once again; If the airspace is not closed, we will fight defensively. Our forces will defeat the the Turkish state and protect our people.”