Turkey Shelling Kills Seven in Besieged Syrian City of Afrin

UN confirms Kurdish city has been cut off from water as thousands flee

Effectively surrounded by the Turkish military and its allies, the north Syrian city of Afrin is under a state of siege, with Turkey not having any specific timeline for occupying the city, but airstrikes and shelling managing to kill seven people within.

The identities of those slain has not been made available publicly, though generally speaking any Kurdish people killed by Turkey are labeled “terrorists,” whether they’re members of the YPG forces resisting the Turkish invasion or not.

The more serious problem for the people in Afrin may be shortages, however, with locals reporting growing bread shortages in parts of the city, and the UN confirming Wednesday that water has been cut of from the city for at least the past week.

Turkey invaded Afrin District, of which the city is the capital, in January,and has taken the northern population centers already.Turkey says they will next invade the city of Manbij, another Kurdish-held city further to the east.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.