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Turkish army destroying over 350 houses in Kurdish city
[ARA News] QAMISHLO – The Turkish army forces have been bombing the Kurdish city of Nusaybin southeastern Turkey for months, destroying hundreds of residential buildings in the city under heavy bombardment, Kurdish activists reported on Sunday. Local activists confirmed that the Turkish army forces continue their offensive through shelling the city’s neighborhoods by tanks and heavy artillery, demolishing more than 355 houses in the Zein al-Abedin neighborhood of Nusaybin. “Pillars of smoke are still rising from the neighborhoods as a result of the Turkish-led military operations,” a local sources told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity. Members of the campaign “No More Silence”, launched by a group of Kurdish activists in the Nusaybin’s twin city of Qamishlo [Qamishli] northeastern Syria, confirmed that Turkish army bulldozers have entered the Zein al-Abedin neighborhood in order to demolish more houses in the area. “We are coordinating with reliable sources inside the war-torn city in order to document all violations against civilians’ rights in Nusaybin,” the Kurdish group said. Dozens of residential buildings have been destroyed by shelling and completely demolished by bulldozers, according to Kurdish activists. This comes as clashes continued between Turkish troops and the PKK-affiliated People’s Defense Forces (HPG) in the city of Nusaybin and other parts of the Kurdish region in Turkey’s southeast. More than 100,000 displaced people have been documented in two months, while many others remain stranded in the war-torn towns and villages in the Kurdish region, local activists reported. In the meantime, the Turkish authorities recently began building a concrete wall along the border in the areas between Ain Diwar and Derik in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah. Local sources in the Kurdish city of Derik in northeastern Syria told ARA News that the Turkish army leadership has been deploying hundreds of gendarmerie and military vehicles at the borderline with the city of Derik, with orders to shoot on each vehicle or person close to the border. “Also, a number of Turkish snipers have been seen near the Tigris River, which separates Turkey from Syria in the area of Ain Diwar northeastern Syria,” according to eyewitnesses. Speaking to ARA News in Derik, media activist Hozan Amin said: “A Syrian Kurdish citizen was shot dead by a Turkish sniper near the border town of Ain Diwar last Tuesday.” “The Turkish army forces open fire on anyone who passes the Roman bridge [3.5 km northeast of the town of Ain Diwar],” Amin said. Turkey tightened border security measures after unrest hit the southeastern regions of the countryــwhere Kurds constitute a majority. Also, a series of explosions targeted sensitive security areas inside Turkey. Turkish forces have earlier entered the Syrian territory, breaking into the north-eastern regions, including Sermisakh and Dirna Aghe in Hasakah suburbs. Posted by: badanov 2016-05-09 |
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