Enlarge image
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fears Kurdish aspirations for independence in his own country
Photo: VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL / EPA
At least four people have been killed in a drone attack by Turkey on a Kurdish-controlled city in northeastern Syria.
The drone was aimed at people who had been digging trenches near a hospital in Kamishli on behalf of the semi-autonomous Kurdish government, said the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman.
Kamishli is near the border with Turkey, where the Kurds have tightened their security measures.
Since May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been threatening an offensive in northern Syria in order to create a 30-kilometer-wide security zone on the border with Turkey.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) military alliance, led by the Kurdish YPG units, confirmed the attack and described the dead as "fighters".
Turkey fears a boost for Kurds in their own country
Ankara sees Kurdish autonomy across the border as a threat, as it could give impetus to Kurdish independence aspirations in Turkey.
Turkey regards the YPG, which was supported by the US in the fight against the IS militia, as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
This is classified as a terrorist organization by the government in Ankara and most western countries.
According to the Human Rights Observatory and Kurdish officials, Turkish forces have stepped up drone strikes against Kurds in Syria since an Iran-Russia-Turkey summit in mid-July.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey launched three offensives against the YPG on its border.
czl/AFP