In a lengthy report published on Friday, Amnesty International announced that evidences from Erdogan’s deadly attacks on the Syrian Kurds proved that Turkey committed serious war crimes.
“Turkish military forces and a coalition of Turkey-backed Syrian armed groups have displayed a shameful disregard for civilian life, carrying out serious violations and war crimes, including summary killings and unlawful that have killed and injured civilians, during the offensive into northeast Syria,” said the report by Amnesty.
The evidences have been reportedly collected from witness testimony of 17 people from 12 and 16 October. Medical team, rescue workers, displaced civilians, journalists and foreign humanitarian agents were among people who had been interviewed by Amnesty International.
The organization has also reported that analyzing videos and footages gathered from Syria is another proof for Turkey’s war crimes against the Kurds in Syria.
Earlier, Kurdish leaders in Syria have warned against the use of banned weapons against civilians by Turkish army and its jihadist proxies.
“Turkey is responsible for the actions of the Syrian armed groups it supports, arms and directs. So far, Turkey has given these armed groups free rein to commit serious violations in Afrin and elsewhere. We call on Turkey again to end violations, hold perpetrators accountable, and protect civilians living under their control. Turkey cannot evade responsibility by outsourcing war crimes to armed groups,” said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
According to the report, a Kurdish Red Crescent worker described how he pulled bodies after a Turkish air strike on 12 October at around 7am, in which two munitions landed near to a school in Salhiye, where civilians displaced by the fighting had sought shelter.
“Everything happened so fast. In total, there were six injured and four killed, including two children. I couldn’t tell if they were boys or girls because their corpses were black. They looked like charcoal. The other two people killed were older men, they looked older than 50. Honestly, I am still in shock,” he said, adding that the nearest frontline was more than 1km away and that there were no fighters or military objectives in the vicinity at the time of the attack
