Two people were injured in a drone attack by the Turkish state in Kobanê in northern Syria late on Thursday evening. Citing hospital sources, Ronahî TV reported that the victims were a married couple. According to the report, the strike targeted the car of Halime Mihemed Osman and Elî Mistefa Osman. The condition of the man was said to be stable, while that of his seriously injured wife was categorised as critical.
As Ronahî TV further reported, the couple’s car was targeted on a road near the village of Ênbetê (Ayn Al Batt), around twenty minutes’ drive east of the centre of Kobanê. After the shelling, the vehicle caught fire and was completely engulfed in flames within a very short time. The man freed himself from the car relatively quickly and then rescued his wife, who is the spokesperson for the civil society Sara Organisation for Combating Violence against Women. An ambulance was called and took the couple to a nearby clinic.
In the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria, people are repeatedly falling victim to drone attacks carried out by Turkey in violation of international law. The attacks are directed against representatives of the Autonomous Administration structures, members of combat units and the civilian population and are carried out by armed drones that travel unchallenged in Syrian airspace.
The world largely ignores Turkey’s anti-Kurdish drone war, which began in June 2020 with the murder of three representatives of the women’s umbrella organisation, Kongra Star, in Kobanê. Since then, hundreds of other drone attacks have followed. According to data from the Rojava Information Centre (RIC), Turkey has carried out more than ninety drone attacks this year, eight of which targeted vehicles. At least 26 people have been killed and a further 27 injured. The figures are likely to be higher, as the RIC only publishes confirmed cases. The RIC balance sheet for the past year lists 198 drone attacks. In these attacks, 105 people were killed and 123 others injured.
One of Halime’s comrades wrote about her, stating:
Halime goes to the women in Kobane whenever there is a problem, early in the morning and late in the evening. Even before the revolution, she and many other people in Kobane organized themselves against the Baathist regime. In the fight against Daesh, she sent her children out of the city and took part in the defense with her husband.
For many years, she has been working primarily for the rights of women in Kobane, for three years on the board of Sara, and as a spokesperson since September 2023.
Last night, the Turkish state showed once again that it does not accept the strength of women.
That he is afraid of it.
Sara’s board today states: “We know that the liberation, development and progress of women means the development and progress of society. They stand for an end to war and unrest and for the creation of peace and democracy. This is why struggling women are targeted.”
This morning, all the women from the social organizations are coming together. It’s a Friday, a holiday, but that doesn’t matter. We are angry together, we discuss things, we make a statement. We stand together.
Halime, hold on, you’ve already shown so much strength, you’ll be able to do this too!