The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday that Turkish border guards had shot and killed a Syrian civilian and injured two others. The incident occurred when the border guards opened fire on a group approaching the border.
The body of the deceased civilian was reportedly returned to Syrian territory on Thursday after Turkish forces had prevented anyone from accessing the scene of the shooting for several days. This latest incident adds to a growing list of civilian deaths attributed to Turkish border guards.
Casualties have been reported in various regions along the border. Six civilians, including one child, were killed in areas controlled by the extremist Islamist militant group Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls parts of northwestern Syria, particularly in Idlib province. HTS has been involved in the Syrian civil war since its inception and has ties to al-Qaeda.
Two civilians were killed in areas under the control of Operation Peace Spring, a Turkish military operation launched in October 2019 to create a “safe zone” along the Turkish-Syrian border by driving out Kurdish forces from the region. The operation primarily targeted areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition of militias that has been a key partner of the United States in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Syria. The SDF controls significant portions of northeastern Syria and operates semi-autonomously from the Syrian government.
One civilian fatality was reported in regions controlled by the Manbij Military Council Forces, a group aligned with the SDF that administers the city of Manbij in northern Syria. Meanwhile, two civilians were killed in SDF-controlled areas, with incidents reported in Kobani and the Al-Hasakah countryside.
Since 2011, the civil war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives and displaced millions. Syria shares a long border with Turkey, which hosts around 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees, according to the UN’s refugee agency.
Despite officially closing its border with Syria, Turkey has regularly allowed access for humanitarian and medical reasons over the years. At times, it has also allowed Syrians to return home for family visits during major holidays. However, since two devastating earthquakes hit Turkey on February 6, 2023, affecting Syria and killing thousands, Ankara has reinforced border restrictions.
Human Rights Watch reported in April 2023 that Turkish gendarmes responsible for border control routinely abuse and indiscriminately shoot at Syrians along the Syrian-Turkish border. Hundreds of deaths and injuries have been recorded in recent years.
