More than sixty people were killed in a drone attack on the Homs Military Academy in central Syria during an officer promotion ceremony on Thursday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
• Also read: Turkish attacks on Kurdish targets in Syria: at least seven dead
• Also read: Syria: Five members of same family killed in regime bombing
At that time, Turkey carried out attacks against Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria, killing at least nine people, according to Kurdish forces.
The attack on Homs, which the Syrian army attributed to “terrorist organizations,” left “more than 60 dead,” mostly officers but also nine civilians, relatives of the soldiers who attended the ceremony, according to the Observatory.
The OSDH, based in the United Kingdom and with an extensive network of sources in Syria, also reported “several dozen injured.”
“Terrorist organizations” targeted the ceremony “with drones loaded with explosives,” the Syrian army said, vowing to respond “firmly” to “this cowardly, unprecedented terrorist attack.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Jihadist groups that control some of Syria’s territory sometimes use armed drones.
Government forces regained full control of the city of Homs, which had become a rebel stronghold since the 2011 pro-democracy uprising, in May 2017 after fierce fighting.
The conflict in Syria was sparked by the suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations, leaving more than half a million dead and dividing the country.
“Escalation”
In the north-east of the country in particular, the Kurds have set up an autonomous administration that is regularly targeted by the Turkish army.
On Thursday, Turkey carried out renewed attacks against the region, targeting oil sites, two power plants, a dam and a factory in Hassake province, which is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, dominated and supported by the Kurds). becomes. . UNITED STATES).
Turkey says it is acting in retaliation for the attack on the Interior Ministry in Ankara on Sunday, in which two police officers were injured.
“Six members of the security forces were killed in a raid” and “two civilians” traveling on motorcycles died in another attack, the Kurdish forces said in a statement. FDS spokesman Farhad Chami reported a ninth death shortly afterwards.
Turkey has claimed that the perpetrators of the Ankara attack, claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), were trained in Syria. FDS leader Mazloum Abdi denied these allegations.
Ankara views the SDF’s main component, the YPG (People’s Protection Units), as an extension of the PKK, which Ankara describes as a “terrorist organization.”
“There has been a clear escalation since the Turkish threats” against areas controlled by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration in northeastern Syria, Mr. Chami said.
In response to the attack in Ankara, Turkey also carried out strikes against PKK positions in northern Iraq, a country bordering Syria and Turkey.
After Thursday’s attacks in Syria, columns of smoke were visible over the Qahtaniya oil site near the Turkish border, according to AFP correspondents. Firefighters headed to the main power plant in Qamichli, Hassaké province.
Bombings
At the Qamichli central market, the eyes of traders and the few customers were glued to their television screens and mobile phones, eagerly following the news.
“The situation is getting worse day by day. Turkey doesn’t let us breathe and targets us every day. We just want our children to live in peace,” said Hassan al-Ahmad, a 35-year-old trader.
The autonomous Kurdish government on Thursday called on “the international community, the international coalition” and Russia to “take positions that are likely to deter Turkey.”
The USA, regime ally Russia and Turkey are stationing troops in various regions of Syria.
The Washington-backed FDS has led the fight against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey conducted three major operations against Kurdish forces.
Elsewhere in the country, five members of the same family were killed in a bombardment by regime forces in Aleppo province (northwest) overnight.
And after the Homs attack, regime forces violently bombed the Idlib region, the country’s last rebel stronghold, according to residents.