02.08.2020, Ain Issa.
The Turkish army attacked Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) positions in the province of Raqqa, a Rossa Primavera News Agency source in Syria informs on August 2.
“The Turkish army attacked the SDS positions by artillery shelling near the town of Ain Issa in the north of Raqqa,” the source said.
On October 17, 2017, Kurdish squads, supported by the international coalition, liberated Raqqa. A significant part of the province is also controlled by Kurdish units.
Background
On October 9, 2019, Turkey launched the Operation Peace Spring against the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern Syria east of the Euphrates River. Ankara announced the following objectives of the operation: to dislodge the Kurds from the 30-40 km of gray area along the entire Syrian-Turkish border east of the Euphrates and then to move into this area Syrian refugees, who fled from the hostilities to the Turkish territory.
Turkey used Ankara-backed Syrian opposition groups as strike groups. The Turkish military commanded the militants in these groups, the Turkish army supported them with artillery and aviation. The same groups remained in the territories occupied during the operation.
On October 22, 2019 in Sochi, during negotiations between Russia and Turkey, a truce agreement was reached. But Turkish-backed militants regularly violated it and opened fire on the Kurds positions in the provinces of Raqqa and Hasakah. The SDF often open return fire. Therefore, the situation in the area, where the Operation Peace Spring is conducted, cannot be called peaceful.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
