ISTANBUL

At least five civilians were killed while attempting to return to their homes in villages near the Tishrin and Qara Qozak dams in northern Syria after landmines planted by the YPG/SDF terror group exploded, according to a statement Tuesday by the Aleppo Media Directorate.

“The group had planted landmines in a large number of civilian homes prior to its withdrawal,” it said.

In a separate development, the Central Committee for Aleppo Response, in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, dispatched a humanitarian convoy with food, medical and relief supplies to the Ayn al-Arab area, as part of efforts by the Aleppo province to deliver aid to civilians.

The statement said that “hundreds of civilians were able to leave the area through the Nour Ali crossing,” announced by the Syrian Army’s Operations Command, after several shelter centers were prepared in the town of Sarrin and in Aleppo city.

But it accused the SDF of placing obstacles to prevent residents from leaving for areas under Syrian state control, including by planting landmines on roads, “threatening the lives of thousands of Syrians.”

According to the Aleppo Media Directorate, the SDF imposed a “suffocating siege” for several days on the villages of al-Jaada, al-Qubba and Tal Ahmar, as well as other nearby villages, by blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid.

It said more than 50,000 people remain trapped in the besieged areas.

“SDF forces and PKK-affiliated militias targeted civilians with machine guns and sniper fire in villages including Kharous, Kik Dada and Nasser,” while aid groups have been forced to deliver bread and food supplies through “dangerous water routes” that are insufficient to meet local needs, it said.

It added that the SDF has prevented residents from accessing the site of a “massacre committed by PKK militias on Jan. 21 south of Ayn al-Arab,” and that “a video showed one of the group’s members filming 22 people after they were executed in the field,” with reports indicating a higher number of victims.

For safety reasons, the Aleppo Media Directorate urged residents “not to enter villages located along contact lines until they are fully secured by internal security forces and engineering teams,” which it said have been working for days to clear landmines and prepare the area for the return of civilians and the entry of state institutions to provide services.

The directorate also urged the SDF to adhere to agreements signed with the Syrian state that pave the way for the entry of state institutions and internal security forces, “to ensure security, stability and the safety of civilians.”