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2020_Afrin_bombing Latitude and Longitude:
36°30′43″N 36°52′10″E / 36.5119°N 36.8694°E / 36.5119; 36.8694
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36°30′43″N 36°52′10″E / 36.5119°N 36.8694°E / 36.5119; 36.8694

2020 Afrin bombing
Part of the SDF insurgency in Northern Aleppo
Location Afrin, Aleppo Governorate, Syria
Date28 April 2020
TargetMarketplace
Attack type
 Truck bombing, mass murder
Deaths53
Injured50+
PerpetratorUnknown / not claimed
YPG (Turkish claim)
SNA infighting ( SDF claim)

The 2020 Afrin bombing was a truck bombing in the city of Afrin, Syria. The bombing occurred on 23 April 2020 and killing 53 people and injuring a least another 50.

Bombing

On the afternoon of 28 April 2020, a truck bombing occurred a few meters away from the governor's residence in Raju street in Afrin, Aleppo Governorate. [1] [2] [3] A bomb in a tank truck was detonated at an open-air market in Souk Ali in the city centre. [2] [3] According to the governor of the neighbouring Hatay province, across the Turkish border, the explosion was believed to have been caused by the rigging of a fuel tanker with hand grenades. [4] The attack killed at least 53 civilians (including 11 children) and 12 Turkish-backed fighters, and injured over 50 others. [2] [5] [6] [7] Many people, alongside those who got trapped in their cars were burnt to death as a result of the blast, Syrian activists disclosed. [8]

Responsibility

The Turkish government immediately blamed the People's Protection Units (YPG). [2] [3] The Syrian Democratic Council and the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, condemned the bombing [9] and blamed Turkish policy, pointing out that "gangs armed by Turkey" had been involved in similar attacks. [10] [11]

According to the German Marxist newspaper Junge Welt, the nature of the attack and recent tensions suggests a jihadist group. [12] Clashes between jihadist militias regularly take place in the Afrin and Idlib regions. [13] [12] Significant tensions have recently re-emerged between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the main rebel jihadist force in Idlib, and the Turkish government. [12] HTS has accused Ankara of treason since the Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreed in early March 2020. The week prior to the Afrin bombing, the militiamen destroyed a Turkish tank while the Turkish Air Force allegedly destroyed a HTS base by drone. [12]

References

  1. ^ "Following Afrin carnage, Turkish intelligence adopt new precautionary measures by closing all city entrances • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". April 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Dozens killed in truck bomb attack at Syria market". BBC News. April 28, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Bomb blast kills 40 people in Syria's Afrin". The Straits Times. April 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Syria war: Dozens killed in truck bomb attack at Afrin market".
  5. ^ "Afrin carnage: death toll jumps to 52 persons, amid condemnation by opposition parties and organizations against Turkish authorities • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  6. ^ "PKK/YPG supporters rejoice in the Afrin terror attack". PKK/YPG supporters rejoice in the Afrin terror attack. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  7. ^ " Weekly Conflict Summary | 27 April - 3 May 2020" (PDF). Carter Center. May 3, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  8. ^ "Attack in Syria Town Run by Turkish-Backed Fighters Kills 40". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "القوات الكردية تنفي الاتهامات التركية بوقوفها خلف تفجير عفرين الدموي والذي تسبب بمقتل وجرح أكثر من 100 شخص • المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان". April 29, 2020.
  10. ^ "Mazlum Ebdi Efrin'deki saldırıyı kınadı". mezopotamyaajansi.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  11. ^ Faidhi Dri, Karwan (2020-04-29). "Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria condemn 'cowardly' Afrin bombing". Rudaw.net. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  12. ^ a b c d "Massaker in Afrin". junge Welt (in German). 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  13. ^ "UN rights chief calls for Turkey to probe violations in northern Syria". UN News. 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
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