{"id":3822,"date":"2023-10-27T03:40:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T01:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/?p=3822"},"modified":"2023-11-10T17:29:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T16:29:07","slug":"targeting-idps-turkeys-assault-on-washokani-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/targeting-idps-turkeys-assault-on-washokani-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Targeting IDPs: Turkey\u2019s Assault on Washokani Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 5, 2023, the former residents of Ser\u00ea Kaniy\u00ea bore witness to the world\u2019s impotence to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs). It seems that such safeguards, which are supposedly enshrined within international law, do not apply to attacks from Turkey \u2013 a NATO member with an apparent free pass to bomb whichever Kurdish civilians they choose. In this latest instance, the Turkish military\u2019s target of choice was Rojava\u2019s Washokani camp (its name in Kurdish means \u201cFresh River\u201d).<\/p>\n

The camp was established by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in late 2019 following the Turkish invasion and occupation of Ser\u00ea Kaniy\u00ea<\/a><\/span>, which resulted in over 100,000 people being displaced. The current number of IDPs in the camp is 16,322, consisting of 2,630 households. The mostly Kurdish civilians who fled to the camp were forced to abandon their homes and property, arriving with basically nothing.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Washokani camp, which underwent four separate bombardments from the Turkish military on October 5, 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, the camp, situated outside of Heseke, was preparing to commemorate the grim four-year anniversary of their city being occupied when the Turkish state once again launched an aerial attack. The people in the camp, knowing first-hand how Turkey\u2019s assaults spare no one\u2014be it\u00a0 children<\/a><\/span>, women, or the elderly\u2014fell into a state of fear, their city already having been occupied in 2019.<\/p>\n

Despite the existence of specific provisions in international law for the protection of IDP camps, Turkey, as is its custom, flagrantly violated these regulations. Unfortunately, when it involves Kurds, the world\u2019s laws designed to shield civilians become devoid of meaning. And while Turkey\u2019s most recent attack thankfully yielded no casualties, it plunged the IDPs of Washokani into profound anxiety, rekindling traumatic memories of previous Turkish state attacks on their city.<\/p>\n

In our attempt to cover the ongoing war crimes by Turkey since their October 5th<\/sup> aerial assault on Rojava began, The Kurdish Center for Studies (KCS) decided to visit the Washokani camp and speak with its Co-chair, Barzan Abdullah. In the course of our interview with him, he addressed the attacks on the camp, the challenges since, and the stance of NGOs working within the camp who are now having difficulties securing water and electricity because of Ankara\u2019s continuing deliberate assault on Rojava\u2019s infrastructure<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The KCS interview with the camp Co-chair proceeded as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Co-chair of the Washokani Camp, Barzan Abdullah.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

KCS: When did the attack by the Turkish government on Washokani camp take place?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdullah: \u201cThe attack took place on Thursday, October 5, 2023, commencing in the morning and persisting until later in the day. Four warplanes conducted strikes in the vicinity of Washokani camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

KCS: Was there any damage as a result of the attacks?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdullah: \u201cThe attack primarily targeted the western section of the camp, with numerous shell fragments landing within the tents. Consequently, the IDPs had to evacuate their tents and take shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rising smoke from Turkish airstrikes around the Washokani camp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

KCS: What was the overall impact of these attacks on the camp, and what atmosphere did it generate among the IDPs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdullah: \u201cOn the day of the attack at Washokani camp, a memorial tent had been erected to mark the fourth year since the occupation of Ser\u00ea Kaniy\u00ea. The airstrike by warplanes generated intense noise and chaos, causing significant distress among the camp\u2019s inhabitants. People spent the day outdoors, avoiding their tents. Furthermore, the residents in the western part of the camp fled entirely. The situation was dire, leading to incidents of psychological distress, particularly among children and women. It was a brutal and terrifying attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
A displaced mother and her children, residing in the camp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

KCS: What was the response of aid and human rights organizations operating within the camp when the Turkish state attacked?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdullah: \u201cRegrettably, we expected international and humanitarian organizations to rally around and support the IDPs and refugees during such challenging times within the camps. However, on the day of the attack, approximately 12 organizations were present inside the camp, all of which promptly closed their offices and vacated the premises. They only returned to the camp three to four days after the attack, leaving the IDPs in a critical situation during their absence.\u201d<\/p>\n

KCS: How does the camp fare in terms of water and electricity supply?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdullah: \u201cThe Turkish state’s attacks focused on infrastructure, including power stations and a gas plant. This significantly impacted the IDPs, leading to a two-day water supply disruption within the camp and a six-day power outage. Overall, life in the camp ground to a halt.\u201d<\/p>\n

KCS: How can the international community assist the IDPs at Washokani camp?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abdullah: \u201cOn the day of the attack, we endeavored to reach out to international organizations, sending them letters and informing them of the airstrikes on our camps. The Washokani camp wasn\u2019t the only target; the surroundings of Roj Camp and Newroz Camp in Derik also faced bombardments. The IDPs within these camps were also grappling with extreme hardship. Unfortunately, our calls for help have gone unanswered.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On October 5, 2023, the former residents of Ser\u00ea Kaniy\u00ea bore witness to the world\u2019s impotence to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs). It seems that such safeguards, which are supposedly enshrined within international law, do not apply to attacks from Turkey \u2013 a NATO member with an apparent free pass to bomb whichever Kurdish civilians […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3557,"featured_media":3829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,61],"tags":[688,48,689,590,671,651,687,174],"ppma_author":[690],"class_list":["post-3822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-slider","tag-barzan-abdullah","tag-rojava","tag-rojava-idps","tag-sere-kaniye","tag-turkish-bombardment","tag-turkish-war-crimes","tag-washokani-camp","tag-western-kurdistan"],"authors":[{"term_id":690,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"kcs-research-team-in-rojava","display_name":"KCS Research Team in Rojava","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/315055790_1372439633161196_1832456394594784694_n.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/315055790_1372439633161196_1832456394594784694_n.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3557"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3822"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3844,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3822\/revisions\/3844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3822"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nlka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}