Four teenage girls were killed while playing volleyball after a drone struck a United Nations-funded education centre in northeast Syria, it is claimed today.
A Turkish drone allegedly targeted the girls' special education centre on Friday, killing four Kurdish girls and injuring 11 other people, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) claimed in a statement later that day.
The attack on civilians has been condemned by a US commander fighting ISIS in the region, who stopped short of naming Turkey as responsible.
AANES said in its statement that the area of the attack was only two kilometres away from a US-coalition base, adding that the region had noticed increased "escalation of a systematic aggression” by Turkish forces.
“The attack resulted in the death of four children and the wounding of 11 people, all of them girls,” the NES statement said.
Turkey has not confirmed it is responsible for the deadly attack, but the Turkish defence ministry said in a tweet on Friday that they killed five members of the Kurdish forces. It is not clear if the two reports are linked.
The Syrian Democratic Forces shared pictures on Twitter of what it claims are the four alleged victims, naming them as Ranya Eta, Dilan Ezedin, Zozan Zedan and Diyana Elo.
Major General John Brennan, the US commander of the global coalition against ISIS, said in a statement late Friday that he condemns a drone attack which targeted a girls’ learning centre in Hasaka, northeast Syria. He did not state who was believed to responsible for the killings.
He said: “On the evening of August 18, an armed unmanned aerial system struck a group of teenaged girls playing volleyball who were active in a United Nations educational outreach program in Hasakah.
"Initial reports indicate that the strike killed four and wounded several others. I condemn this attack and any others that kill and injure civilians.
"Such acts are contrary to the laws of armed conflict, which require the protection of civilians. We extend our condolences to the families of those killed and sympathies to those injured."
Brennan also said the “increase in military hostilities in northern Syria is creating chaos in a fragile region where the threat of ISIS remains present.”
"We call for immediate de-escalation from all parties and an end to activities that put at risk the significant battlefield gains the Coalition has made against ISIS," he added.
NES said in its statement that the area of the attack was only two kilometres away from a US-coalition base, adding that the region had noticed increased "escalation of a systematic aggression” by Turkish forces.
The girl's special education centre was said to be in the village of Szamuka, 16 km west of the city of Al-Hasakah. The area is home to a number of Kurdish people.
The Turkish government deems US-backed forces — the People’s Protection Units (YPG and YPJ), part of the Syrian Democratic Forces — as “terrorist” groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with which Ankara has also been in conflict on Turkish soil.
Its military incursions into northern Syria are aimed at pushing back Kurdish-led forces and it has launched three cross-border operations into Syria since 2016, threatening a fourth in recent months.
Turkish drone attacks and shelling by Turkish-backed Syrian forces on northeast Syrian cities have once again intensified in recent months and are often fraught with human rights abuses.
According to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Turkish-backed forces also committed sexual violence against women and men in territories under their control, including at least 30 incidents of rape.
On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the United States continues to support “terrorism” in Syria.
The United States, Russia, and Iran have all publicly warned against another Turkish incursion into northeast Syria.
Turkey’s relations with Russia have been strained by the conflict in Syria, with their support on opposing sides and similarly with the war in Ukraine as Erdogan appeared as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv.
According to a report of the Syria-based Rojava Information Centre (RIC), between July 19 and August 18, Turkish shelling and drone attacks have killed 62 people and injured 86.
At least 14 civilians were also reported to be killed as a result of Turkish shelling targeting a market in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab on Friday.
