One and a half weeks after the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, humanitarian workers describe the situation of the civilian population as extremely tense. "Last week was a total mess for hundreds of thousands of Syrians," said Karl Schembri, spokesman for the Norwegian Refugee Council, the TV channel CNN International. "They live in fear and uncertainty, without knowing where the next bomb will explode."
Turkey launched an offensive against the Kurdish militia YPG in northern Syria on 9 October, which it regards as a terrorist organization. Ankara was not asked for help by the Syrian government, nor was the UN Security Council mandated. The Turks establish the invasion of the right to self-defense.
Maas warns Ankara before payment stop
According to Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, the Turkish approach is "not in accordance with international law." That said the SPD politician in the ZDF broadcast "Berlin directly" on Sunday evening. "If there is no basis in international law for such an invasion, then it is not in accordance with international law."
Presidential Press Service / AP
Recep Tayyip Erdogan: invasion justified as self-defense
At the same time, Maas warned Turkey about the loss of European payments under the Refugee Agreement. The Europeans did not agree with sending Syrian civil war refugees, who are now in Turkey, to Northeast Syria. That is one of the issues Turkey has to talk about, also in the context of the refugee agreement: "Because we will not pay money for things that we believe are not legitimate or legal," Maas said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently insulted Maas as a "political dilettante". When asked about this, the foreign minister said that he personally had high personal and personal attacks, but in the end I prefer Mr. Erdogan shoots words rather than missiles, and if we can communicate with him, he can continue to insult me. "
Here is the # berlinindirect interview of @TheoKoll with # Foreign Minister @HeikoMaas about the # Syria conflict @ZDF pic.twitter.com/yxxKsSwkgg
- Berlin direct (@berlindirekt) October 20, 2019"The invasion is a breach of international law," said Green leader Annalena Baerbock on Sunday. The SPD faction leader in the Bundestag, Rolf Mützenich, brought an indictment against Erdogan before the International Criminal Court into play. "Erdogan is currently acting in violation of international law and is engaged in a war of aggression," said Mützenich of "Welt am Sonntag".
The scientific service of the German Bundestag also comes to the conclusion that the invasion is contrary to international law. The report states that "even with generous interpretation" no right to self-defense can be recognized.
In just over a week, at least 165,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, including an estimated 70,000 children, according to recent data from the UN Emergency Relief Agency Ocha. "More and more of them will flee to neighboring Iraq and other areas that are not prepared to accept displaced families," said Schembri of the Norwegian Refugee Council. About 2,400 people have already crossed the border with Iraq. The situation in Syrian camps is "extremely worrying," Ocha had already announced on Friday.
Hundreds of newly displaced civilians from north east #Syria cross the border every night at great risk to seek refuge and protection in #Iraq.
Who call for help. pic.twitter.com/hqBxGiDUBc
Before the start of the Turkish attacks, more than 100,000 displaced people had already lived in camps in the region, said Schembri. Thanks to humanitarian support, they would have survived. "All this has been endangered over the past week because most of the helpers had to flee by themselves." The International Committee of the Red Cross tweeted on Sunday to be one of the last remaining international aid organizations in northern Syria.
Turkey rejects charges of war crimes
According to a ceasefire announced on Thursday, the Kurdish militia and Turkey had accused each other of breaching the agreement. Activists then reported isolated battles. According to the Kurdish Red Crescent, at least 20 civilians have died since the ceasefire was announced. It was unclear whether they were killed in battles since the beginning of the ceasefire or succumbed to injuries they had previously suffered.
According to reports from Ankara, despite the ceasefire, a Turkish soldier was killed by shelling by the Kurdish militia YPG. Another had been injured in the attack in the region around Tal Abiad, the Ministry of Defense said on Sunday. The soldiers had been shot at during an "reconnaissance and surveillance mission" including anti-tank weapons.
Video on demonstrations against Syria offensive: "The whole world is watching"
DPA
Turkey rejected the accusation of the human rights organization Amnesty International of committing war crimes in the attack. These are "non-objective allegations" that are part of a defamation campaign against the Turkish anti-terrorist struggle, the Foreign Ministry said.
