On June 25, dozens of civilians, mainly women, took to the streets of Ras al-Ain and the nearby village of Aluk Gharbi in northern al-Hasakah to protest against actions of Turkish-backed militants.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the protesters gathered in front of the police station to condemn criminal acts of the Mu’tasim Division, whose fighters assaulted a nurse in a local hospital.
Click to see full-size map. Source: (@Suriyakmaps) on Twitter, Via Google Maps – TerraMetrics
The UK-based monitoring group reported that several similar protests as well as general strikes were held in Turkish-occupied areas, including the towns of Tell Abyad and Suluk in northern Raqqa, over the last few days.
The Turkish military and its proxies occupied a large chunk of northeast Syria last year after a large-scale attack on the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The state of lawlessness is now prevailing over Turkish-occupied areas in northeast Syria. Bombings take place there on a regular basis. Earlier this week, dozens of people were killed or injured in a blast near Ras al-Ain.
Aside from the deteriorating security situation, civilians in Turkish-occupied areas in the northeast have been facing a serious humanitarian crisis. Most of the Turkish-conrrolled area is still lacking public services. Prices of basics, like bread, are growing.
Turkey is not making any serious efforts to address these issues. As a result, tensions between Turkish-led forces and locals have been increasing.
