Turkish attacks on NE Syria may be considered war crimes – UN report

It added that the Turkish aerial attacks on power plants in Northeast Syria deprived nearly one million people of water and electricity for weeks. 

“Civilians were also killed in targeted aerial attacks fitting a pattern of Turkish drone strikes,” the report noted. “Such attacks may amount to war crimes.”

Turkish forces’ widespread and frequent targeting of Northeast Syria’s infrastructure appears primarily designed to instill terror among the population in violation of the laws of war. Numerous airstrikes and drone attacks in the months of October and December of 2023 have deprived millions of civilians of at least temporary access to electricity, water, heating, and related vital services ahead of the cold winter months.

The Turkish attacks have also killed at least 176 civilians and injured 272 others in 2023. According to the Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press, the attacks on Oct. 5, to Oct. 8 alone killed and injured over 28 individuals, and interrupted access to power for hundreds of thousands throughout Northeast Syria.   

“Since October, Syria has seen the largest escalation in fighting in four years. With the region in turmoil, a determined international effort to contain the fighting on Syrian soil is imperative. Syria, too, desperately needs a ceasefire,” said Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the IICI.

The report called on the world to repatriated their children from Northeast Syria. “We urge all States to immediately allow all children, including Syrian children, to return home from the camps and take measures to ensure their reintegration into society and accountability for the crimes they have suffered,” said Commissioner Lynn Welchman.     

The report indicated that 16.7 million Syrians inside the country require humanitarian assistance, “the largest number of people in need since the start of the crisis.”

“The Syrian people cannot sustain any further intensification of this devastating, protracted war,” Pinheiro said. “More than 90% now live in poverty, the economy is in freefall amid tightening sanctions, and increased lawlessness is fuelling predatory practices and extortion by armed forces and militia.”