Turkish UAVs and artillery targeted a civilian convoy near the Tishreen Dam on 8 January. The deadly strikes killed five civilians, including activists, and injured 14 others. The convoy had gathered to protest Turkish aggression against the dam, a crucial source of water and power for the region. These attacks mark a sharp escalation in violence, with civilian areas increasingly caught in the crossfire.
Civilian deaths confirmed
The Committee of Martyrs’ Families in Northern and Eastern Syria has released the names of five civilians killed in Turkish drone strikes near the Tishreen Dam. The victims include:
Zozan Hemo Kerem Ahmed El Shihab El Hemed, a leader of the Zenobia Women’s Gathering Azad Ferhan Mihemed Hesan, a member of the Revolutionary Youth Movement in Syria Mistefa Ebdi (killed in a separate strike in Girêk village, Kobanê countryside) Eli Şaşo (also killed in the strike in Girêk)
The attack, which struck an ambulance and a civilian vehicle, left 14 others injured, including two journalists.
Rising civilian casualties and protest response
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish drones targeted a car repair workshop in Sarin, Kobanê countryside, killing one worker and injuring five others. SOHR reported that Turkish forces struck civilian vehicles just 100 metres from a convoy heading to the Tishreen Dam. Thousands of civilians from Kobane, Al-Tabqah (Tabqa), Raqqa (Raqa), Al-Qamishli (Qamişlo), and Al-Hasakah (Hasekê) had joined the convoy to protest Turkey’s attacks on the dam, a vital resource for water and electricity.
During the strikes, a Kurdish woman activist from Kobanê passionately declared:
"We are stronger than death; we are never afraid of being killed. The success will be of the Kurds. We neither fear its [Turkey’s] artillery nor its aircraft. Long live the people of Kobane. Applause for your success!"
Her words, delivered with unyielding resolve amidst the chaos, captured the defiance of the demonstrators who refused to retreat despite the intensifying violence.
A broader escalation
Hawar News Agency described the airstrikes as part of a larger Turkish campaign targeting the Euphrates Basin. The SDF Media Centre has reported that Turkish-backed mercenary groups, supported by artillery and aerial bombardments, have been engaging in intense clashes with local defence forces near the Tishreen Dam and in villages southeast of Manbij (Minbîc).
The attacks have drawn widespread condemnation, with calls for immediate international intervention to hold Turkey accountable for the rising civilian toll and to prevent further destabilisation of the region.