29 November 2016•Update: 29 November 2016
ANKARA
The Syrian Turkmen Assembly on Tuesday accused Syrian regime forces and Iran-backed militias of carrying out unprecedentedly fierce attacks on Turkmen-majority parts of Aleppo.
In a statement, the assembly said the PYD -- the Syrian affiliate of the PKK terrorist organization -- had "totally destroyed" six of eastern Aleppo’s majority-Turkmen districts.
The assembly went on to say that Aleppo was experiencing "one of the heaviest bombardments and civilian massacres in history".
"Mostly Turkmen areas are being targeted in inhuman operations being carried out by the Syrian regime and its allies," the statement read.
"Thousands of Turkmen civilians are being directly targeted," the assembly said, going on to accuse the international community of not doing enough to stop the bloodshed.
Syrian regime forces have recently stepped up their attacks on opposition-held parts of eastern Aleppo in an effort to retake the city and advance on Idlib, one of the Syrian opposition’s last strongholds.
Since mid-November, more than 600 civilians have been killed -- and hundreds more injured -- in regime attacks on eastern Aleppo.
The fierce bombardments have forced hospitals and other medical facilities in the war-battered city to cease operations while most academic activities have been completely halted.
Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.
Reporting by Selen Temizer;Writing by Handan Kazancı
