...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...’s ability to commit human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
violations. For more than five years, Turkey has attacked the people of northern Syria under the pretext of fighting terrorism, beginning with the invasion of Afrin in 2018, and continuing with the assaults on Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad in 2019. Together, they have caused the forced displacement of more than 700,000 people. Turkey has since then established control over much of northern Syria and built dozens of military bases there.
Turkey’s violations against civilians and the bombing of infrastructure have not ceased. It has killed hundreds of people, including women and kiddies, and destroyed hundreds of homes and dozens of vital facilities.
On February 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, killing more than 50,000 people. Many cities in both countries were declared disaster zones. The United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
called for a ceasefire in Syria to facilitate the delivery of assistance, but Turkey has not adhered to it nor has it ceased its bombing of northern Syria.
Since then, the Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press has recorded 14 strikes against 10 targets in northern Syria by Turkey, including three through drones. The countryside of Ain Issa, Kobani, Tel Rifaat and Qamishli were all targeted. The attacks caused the death of four people, two civilians and two SDF members, and the injury of another person.
At the same time that Turkey was targeting sites in the earthquake-affected areas, residents of those areas were sleeping on the street, fearing the collapse of their houses. Turkey, aware of the general situation in Syria, did not consider the humanitarian situation.
It has continued to violate human rights, causing terror and fear, and targeting civilian infrastructure. International humanitarian law prohibits the targeting of civilians, as does Article 147 of the Geneva Convention of 1949. It is also criminalized by Article 25 of the Hague Regulation of 1907. However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
targeting civilians during the catastrophic circumstances surrounding earthquakes may also violate international human rights standards.
Turkey did not limit its aggression to unlawful indiscriminate shelling against regions of North and East Syria. It has also assaulted Syrian asylum seekers. Since February 6, the Department has recorded the death of four people and the injury of 11, including a woman on the Syrian-
A child was also injured in front of his house in Kobani. Acts committed against asylum seekers on the Syrian-
Janine Uhlmannsiek,