Turkey has threatened that it may launch a ground attack on northern Syria. In the region, the Kurdish forces monitor, for example, the al-Holi camp, where family members of the fighters of the extremist organization Isis are kept.
The Kurdish forces have said that they may no longer be able to guard al-Hol and other prison camps if Turkey makes a ground attack on the area.
The Kurdish SDF forces tell about it For the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC (you will switch to another service).
For years, SDF forces in northeastern Syria have been monitoring camps where ISIS fighters and their family members are kept.
The Kurds would no longer have the capacity to guard the camp if Turkey carries out its threatened ground attack on northern Syria.
– Our troops would be busy protecting our own, and we wouldn’t be able to monitor the camps, says the SDF commander, General Mazloum Abdi for the BBC.
Abdi also warns that if Turkey starts a ground operation in the region, Isis could become stronger and the Syrian civil war could escalate again.
– We have fought as part of an international coalition and defeated ISIS. What Turkey is doing is destabilizing all of that, says Abdi.
Since Sunday, Turkey has carried out airstrikes in Syria, which have been described as revenge for the bombing in Istanbul earlier in November. Turkey has also carried out attacks against the Kurdish forces guarding the al-Holi camp.
Finns still in the Al-Holi camp
The largest of the camps controlled by the Kurds is al-Hol, where there are still a dozen Finnish women and children. In total, there are more than 50,000 people in the camp, of which more than 10,000 are foreigners.
They ended up in the camp when the “caliphate” of the terrorist organization Isis fell in the spring of 2019. At that time, large numbers of people who lived in the territory of Isis were taken to Al-Holi camp in primitive conditions.
The conditions in the camp are harsh and dangerous. Last week, international news agencies reported on two Egyptian girls who were found murdered in al-Holi.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland has helped 35 Finns from al-Holi to their homeland. There are reportedly still a dozen Finnish women and children in the camp.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously said that everyone who was willing to cooperate has been repatriated to Finland.
On Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not have time to comment to on the impact of the Turkish airstrikes on the situation of the Finns in the camp.
In October, Finland received serious reprimands from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. It considered that Finland has neglected to protect the Finnish children at al-Holi.
The Kurdish forces and the organization have a different understanding of where the strikes hit
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that Turkey can attack the Syrian Kurds with ground troops as well. Erdogan has been threatening a ground attack since last spring.
The United States and Russia have urged Turkey to refrain from excessive use of force.
Since Sunday, at least 58 people have been killed in Turkish airstrikes in Syria, says the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkey has blamed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish armed movement YPG operating in Syria for the attack in Istanbul. They have denied that they carried out the attack.
According to the Kurds, eight people responsible for guarding the camp were killed in the attacks carried out by Turkey on Wednesday against the Kurdish forces guarding the al-Holi camp.
According to the Kurds, the attacks were carried out inside the camp. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, on the other hand, says that the attacks were aimed at the forces guarding the outside of the camp.
Sources: AFP, AP
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