An SDF militiaman watches as a convoy of trucks passes by (AFP via Getty).
A massive barrage of over 1,000 artillery shells injured several people in the Kurdish-occupied areas around the Syrian city of Afrin on Wednesday. The shelling came from areas controlled by Syrian Islamist militias which are armed and trained by Turkey. The same day, over 420 artillery shells were fired into Kurdish communities in Tel Tamr, east of the Euphrates River near the Turkish border. Tel Tamr has been a flashpoint between Turkish-sponsored militias and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since a Turkish military offensive in October, 2019 created a “buffer zone” inside Syrian Kurdistan.
Wednesday’s bombardment was followed by a Turkish drone strike on a vehicle in the eastern part of Syrian Kurdistan near Ayn Issa, killing two female officers in the SDF. It was the 11th drone strike in as many days. Turkish drones have killed 26 people and injured dozens more in 61 separate strikes so far this year, including 12 killed in July alone, the deadliest month of the year so far. The strikes have recently targeted officers in the all-female Kurdish YPJ militia, which played a central role in the war against ISIS between 2014-2018.
The spike in attacks by Turkey and Turkish-sponsored militias against the Kurdish-led SDF comes after a buildup of Turkish forces and proxy militias in preparation for a fourth military offensive inside Syrian Kurdistan. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke publicly regarding his objectives in the offensive before attending a meeting in Tehran with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 19. It is widely believed that Putin and Raisi did not provide Erdogan with the “green light” he sought for his offensive, leading the frustrated Turkish president to order an increase in artillery and drone strikes against SDF targets.
As incidents of war, strife, earthquakes and famines continue to mount across the Middle East, we would ask the Maranatha global community to continue in prayer for unreached people groups across the region. We pray for the schemes of the enemy to be restrained, for divine wisdom to be granted to international leaders, and for each calamity and catastrophe to open “wide, effectual doors” for laborers of the Mideast harvest fields.
Maranatha!
