The air strikes that Turkey launched on October 4 against the cities of Northern and Eastern Syria continue. While the infrastructure and civilian settlements of the region were bombed in the attacks, many civilians and internal security forces lost their lives. According to the report prepared by the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria regarding the balance sheet of the attacks, 44 people, including 4 children and 29 Internal Security Force and SDF fighters, lost their lives and 55 people were injured. Stating that targeting children in attacks is against many national and international agreements, child rights advocates working in Northern and Eastern Syria evaluated what happened.

 

4 CHILDREN WERE MURDERED

 

Dayvan Mahmoud, a member of the Nudem Movement, which works on child rights advocacy and the participation of disabled children in life, noted that 4 children have been murdered since the first day of the attacks and 10 children have become disabled due to loss of limbs. Referring to the targeting of civilians' living conditions with the latest attacks in all areas of the Autonomous Administration, Mahmoud said: “The attacks were carried out in all cantons. For example, a child named Farah Adnan Al-Khair, who was in the field during an attack on Dirbesiyê, lost both of her legs and became disabled; however, the number of hospitals is limited and there are attacks on hospitals. Due to limited resources, the injured and those waiting for treatment cannot access medical aid. The remaining children fell behind in their education because they were afraid to go to school during an attack in which even hospitals were bombed. The parents of some children lost their lives."

 

Stating that Turkey took away children's right to life, Mahmoud said: "Children were affected physically, psychologically, economically and sociologically due to these attacks. There is a silence against the attacks. These attacks are happening in front of the eyes of the whole world, but there is not a single voice. We see that all the agreements and laws they wrote and signed are on paper."

 

PEOPLE ARE LEFT THIRSTY

 

Stating that citizens cannot meet even their most basic needs as their living spaces are targeted, Mizgin Hessen, a member of the Women's Rights Defense and Research Center said: “Electricity stations and fuel stations were targeted in the attacks. It not only left the citizens living here without electricity or fuel for days, but also left people unable to do many things that run on electricity and fuel. In the simplest example, proper water cannot be supplied to houses. People are left thirsty. We know that many patients, mostly children, with intestinal infections are already in hospitals due to this problem."

 

'A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY IS BEING COMMITTED'

 

Referring to the effects of the attacks on children, Hessen said: “Children live in constant stress because they constantly hear bomb sounds and explosion sounds. It is also written in international child rights conventions: Every child must live under healthy conditions and in a healthy environment. Children have the right to life; however, in Northern and Eastern Syria, even the right to life, which is considered the most important article of every international agreement, is taken from children. This is a huge crime against humanity."

 

Drawing attention to the crimes against humanity taking place in Palestine, Hessen said: "Human rights should be implemented without buts and buts. Huge war and humanity crimes are being committed in Palestine; however, we encounter a great silence for Rojava, where the same things are happening. This also reveals the hypocrisy of their policies."

 

MA / Ceylan Şahinli