MESOP MIDEAST WATCH: Turkish Army Launches Ground Offensive against Kurdish PKK/SDF Forces North of Hasakah

ERBIL 22-12-2021 — The Turkish Army and its affiliated Syrian factions on Wednesday morning launched a ground attack against the Kurdish forces in a village near Tel Tamar, north of Hasakah province, local sources said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said its positions had come under attack in the village of Um al-Kif, and that a fierce confrontation was ongoing.

On Monday evening, pro-Turkish factions shelled the countryside of Zarkan and Tel Tamar towns, killing and injuring eight civilians while many more were displaced.

Later on Tuesday, bombardments in Tel-Shnan, Tel-Tawila, Tel-Karabit, Tel Jum’a, and Umm al-Keif caused material damage but no casualties.

There are 33 villages in the countryside of Tel Temer, where mainly Assyrians live. However, many of the villages have been evacuated due to the Islamic State (IS) attacks or the risks imposed by the Turkish-backed factions.

Turkey has, on multiple occasions, threatened to carry out a fresh military operation against the Syrian Kurdish forces in the north of Syria as it sees them offsprings of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and a threat to its national security.