AFRIN, Syria: Government officials in Afrin have decided to evacuate civilians to avoid a "worse civilian catastrophe," the co-chair of the executive council of Afrin region said in a televised statement.
The spokesperson went on to say that the war against Turkish and Turkey-backed forces in Afrin had "entered a new stage."
The administration indicated that Kurdish-dominated forces fighting Turkey-backed groups in the area will shift from direct confrontation to guerrilla tactics.
"Our forces are present all over Afrin's geography. These forces will strike the positions of the Turkish enemy and its mercenaries at every opportunity," Othman Sheikh Issa, co-chair of the Afrin executive council, said in a televised statement.
"Our forces all over Afrin will become a constant nightmare for them."
Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies swept into the northwestern Syrian town of Afrin on Sunday, raising their flags in the town centre and declaring full control after an eight-week campaign to drive out fighters from the Kurdish YPG militia.
Issa said Kurdish fighters had shown "unparalleled steadfastness and resistance" in the fight, but that Kurdish authorities had decided to evacuate civilians from Afrin "to avoid a worse humanitarian catastrophe."
Afrin local government evacuates civilians to avoid ‘worse civilian catastrophe’
Afrin local government evacuates civilians to avoid ‘worse civilian catastrophe’
UN force in Lebanon says peacekeeper wounded by Israeli fire
- UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line”
BEIRUT, Lebanon: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said an Israeli attack near their position in the country’s south wounded a peacekeeper on Friday, reiterating a call for Israel to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“This morning, heavy machine gunfire from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions south of the Blue Line impacted close to a UNIFIL patrol inspecting a roadblock in the village of Bastarra. The gunfire followed a grenade explosion nearby,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The force added that “the sound of the gunfire and the explosion left one peacekeeper slightly injured with ear concussion.”
Also on Friday, UNIFIL said “another patrol carrying out a routine operational task also reported machine gunfire from the Israeli side in immediate proximity to their position” in Kfarshuba, south Lebanon.
The peacekeeping force said it had informed the Israel army of its activities in these areas.
Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
Last month it said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of Security Council resolution 1701,” the peacekeeping force added, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line.”
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
