A look at what’s going on in eastern Syria
Tens of thousands in Hasakah province are already displaced by Erdogan’s freshly launched Operation Spring of Peace.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Oct. 9 the launch of the Turkish military operation in the Kurdish region east of the Euphrates River in Syria. The Turkish army codenamed the operation Spring of Peace.
Ankara’s government launched airstrikes and artillery in the area, leaving thousands of displaced people from the towns of Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain (Sri Canet). The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has estimated that some 60,000 civilians have fled since the operation began.
Erdogan did not name this operation randomly. Ras al-Ain is a city famous for its many springs. The Turkish government called its Afrin operation in January 2018 Operation Olive Branch since Afrin was known for its olive trees.
Al-Monitor met with a number of displaced people in Ras al-Ain who fled the heavy artillery and aerial bombardment of their city and its surroundings to Hasakah.
