Five civilians have been killed and six have got injured, including two children, as a result of artillery strikes launched from areas controlled by the Turkish Armed Forces on populated areas in the province of Aleppo. The Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of the Hostile Parties in Syria told reporters on Tuesday.
“On 7 April, between 18:30 and 19:10 Moscow time, five civilians were killed as a result of artillery strikes launched from areas controlled by the Turkish Armed Forces on populated areas in Tell Rifaat district of Aleppo province. Six people, including two children, were injured”, the Centre reported.
Earlier, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted local sources as saying that the Turkish Armed Forces and their collaborators from the armed Syrian opposition had launched strikes on the areas around the towns of Tell Rifaat and Afrin, located in the province of Aleppo in northern Syria. According to the agency, “around 200 rockets and artillery shells were fired at several villages”. The shelling also hit the houses of local residents, “causing damage to the homes and property of Syrian citizens, as well as infrastructure”.
Turkey has conducted three military operations in northern Syria since 2017: Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Source of Peace. As a result, a security buffer zone was established between the cities of Azaz and Jerabulus north of Aleppo, Afrin was occupied, and the border areas east of the Euphrates River were taken under control.
Meanwhile, Damascus is considering Turkey’s armed presence as an illegal occupation.
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Based on materials from TASS