After the killing of four Syrian civilians from shelling by the alliance of Turkish armed forces and the Syrian National Army (SNA) in a village in North East Syria, Salih Muslim, the Co-Presidency council member of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) spoke to ANHA about the attack and especially criticized Russia and the Syrian Government for remaining silent about it.

Zêdan Xelef El-Îsa (54) and his 3 children – Ziyad, Mûne and Hûda – were killed in their home in Sefawiyê village, in the north of Ain Issa and Tell Tamer provinces of North East Syria, when the village was targeted by heavy weapons on Tuesday 6 August. The mother of the family and their last surviving child also remain seriously injured after the attack.

Muslim drew parallels with Hitler and the actions of the Nazi fascists regarding the attack and the oppressive politics of Turkey in the region. “The massacre is taking place in front of the whole world. Turkey is attacking from all sides, to break the resistance of the Kurdish people.” He provided the example of the Kurdish family that was murdered by a Turkish racist in the Konya province of Turkey.

“Turkey undertook the same type of massacre in Konya. They want to subject the Kurdish people to genocide. Our people must be careful. We have no choice but to resist.”

The Sochi Agreement was signed by Russia, Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in October 2019 to ensure security in northeastern Syria. Russia, as one of the signatories, assumed the role of guarantor for the agreement. Muslim criticized the Russian Government for not assuming its responsibility in being the guarantor of the Sochi Agreement that it signed with Turkey.

“There are the forces of Russian and Damascus governments – armies – in the region where civilians were attacked. These so-called forces have settled there to guarantee the ceasfire. So far, however, they have not stopped the attacks. They haven’t protected civilians. That’s why Russia and the government of Damascus are responsible for the massacre.”

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) also issued a statement regarding the attack in Sefawiyê village and asserted that the attack was motivated by the politics of genocide.

ANHA reports that the attacks against Tell Tamer have been continuing and at around 2 am, for example, the village of Tell Shinan, to the east of Tell Tamer, was bombed by Turkey and its affiliated militias.

According to local sources, civilians are fleeing their homes due to the attacks and taking refuge in more secure places in the region. Some villagers also stated that they were afraid to stay in their homes because they had no safety and were sleeping outside during the nights.