Al-Bab (Syria) – On Friday, 21 civilians, including children, were killed in northern Syria, in artillery shelling by the regime forces and in a Turkish strike, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The border area with Turkey has been witnessing tension for days, against the backdrop of clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by Kurdish fighters, and the Turkish forces and the Syrian factions loyal to them. The escalation expanded to include regime forces deployed at border points. Before dawn on Friday, an educational center for minors was hit in a Turkish strike carried out by a march in the area of Shmouka in the countryside of Al-Hasakah (northeast), killing four children and wounding 11 others, according to a statement by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration. The observatory confirmed the killing of four girls in the bombing, noting that the center aims to rehabilitate minors who wish to bear arms. In the city of al-Bab, which is under the control of factions loyal to Ankara in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, the artillery shelling of the regime forces targeted a popular market, according to the observatory, which indicated that the bombing resulted in the killing of 17 civilians, including six children, and the injury of 35 others. Citizens and members of the Civil Defense rushed to the targeted place to evacuate the wounded, according to Agence France-Presse, which reported the presence of body parts, destroyed vegetable vehicles and wounded children. The shelling intensified between the parties to the conflict, especially between the Kurdish fighters and the Turkish forces, at the beginning of the week before it returned and calmed down somewhat. SDF spokesman Farhad Shami announced in a tweet that his forces had nothing to do with the strike. On Friday, Turkish media quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as confirming that his country has no ambitions in Syrian territory. Erdogan revealed that he intends to pass new stages with the Syrian regime, considering that improving relations between the two countries would contribute to peace in the region. Since last month, Turkey has intensified the pace of its bombing through marches of targets in the areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which the most prominent factions, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, are classified as a terrorist group. On Tuesday, a Turkish warplane targeted a position of the regime forces near the border, killing 17 fighters, according to the observatory, which did not specify whether they were all regime forces or Kurdish fighters, while the Syrian official media reported the killing of three soldiers. The regime forces are deployed in border villages in the Kurdish-controlled areas in north and northeastern Syria, following Russian-sponsored agreements aimed at preventing Turkey from launching new military operations that it has long threatened the Kurdish fighters. Since 2016, Ankara has launched three military operations in Syria, targeting mainly Kurdish fighters, and enabling it, along with its loyal factions, to control a wide border area.
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