Steadfast Global, 15 October 2019
Rather than creating a safe zone to allow 3.6 million Syrian Refugees to return home from their camps in southern Turkey, President Erdogan’s so-called Operation Peace Spring has sharply escalated tension, displaced tens of thousands and brought a new front to the conflict plaguing the nation of Syria.
An estimated 60,000 new refugees are waiting to cross the border into neighbouring Kurdistan to flee the fighting. Syrian Kurdish militias are attempting to stop the refugees from crossing into the Kurdistan region through the border checkpoint. As a consequence, desperate individuals and families are now wading the adjoining river to escape Syria.
The north-eastern area of Syria, which is known by Kurds as Rojava, is home to a large population of Syriac and Assyrian Christians who have lived at peace with their Kurdish Muslim neighbours for generations. While this incursion does not appear to be about targeting Syria’s Christians, they are caught up in the turmoil and so, at risk of injury and death.