A joint patrol conducted by Russian and Turkish forces in the northeastern Syrian town of Çil Axa (Al-Jawadiyah), located in the Hasakah province, was met with protests from local residents. The town is under the control of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
Protesters in the village of Dêrna Axa blocked the path of the military convoy, leading to a confrontation with Russian forces, according to a report from the North Press Agency (NPA). Demonstrators threw stones at the armored vehicles. In response, Russian troops fired into the air and deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Hawar News Agency (ANHA), based in Rojava, reported that one of the protesters, Evin Îsa, 31, a Kurdish woman, was injured after being struck by a Russian armored vehicle. Îsa, who sustained broken legs, was taken to Dêrik Hospital for treatment.
She expressed her opposition to the patrol, saying, "We are protesting against Turkey due to the increasing attacks in the region, and we do not accept this joint patrol passing through our village. Instead of stopping the attacks, Russia is trying to intimidate us by running us over with armored vehicles."
The joint patrols
The Turkish-Russian joint patrols in northeastern Syria are part of an agreement reached between the two countries Turkey's "Operation Peace Spring" in 2019. The Turkish army seized the control of three towns from the Kurdish before a ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia.
As per the Sochi Agreement signed in October 2019, the joint patrols were to be conducted in a 10-kilometer-deep area along the eastern and western boundaries of the territory that the operation covered, excluding the city of Qamishli.
The joint patrols, which began on Nov 1, 2019, were suspended on Oct 5 last year due to security concerns but resumed on Aug 22 as announced by Turkey's National Defense Ministry.
(VK)