Security

Turkish drone targeted youth group: SDF commander

Abdi tweeted that the Turkish drone strike last Saturday targeted the headquarters of the Revolutionary Youth Movement and killed five members of the group.

Kurdistan 24 2021/12/27 13:12

Five members of the Revolutionary Youth Movement were killed in a Turkish drone on Saturday (Photo: ANF)

Syria Revolutionary Youth Movement SDF PYD Kobani Mazloum Abdi

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Turkish drone strike killed five people on Saturday when it targeted the Revolutionary Youth Movement in the northern Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi confirmed early on Monday.

Abdi tweeted that the Turkish drone strike last Saturday targeted the headquarters of the Revolutionary Youth Movement and killed five members of the group.

He added that this is a "continuation of the occupation behavior in dealing with the Kurdish issue in Syria, and a targeting of security and safety in north and east Syria."

He called on the UN to "stop Turkey's policy of intimidation against civilians and to stop hostilities, which undermine stabilization efforts."

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported on Saturday that a Turkish drone strike targeted a house near a Russian military in Kobani, killing two.

Now it appears the death toll has risen.

ECHO, the European Union's aid organization, earlier said the Kurdish Tevgera Ciwanen Soresger (Revolutionary Youth Movement) clashed with the security forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) at the Fishkhabour-Semalka border crossing on Dec. 14.

The group in the past has often been accused of recruiting children and attacking offices of the Syrian Kurdish National Council (KNC), a rival of the dominant Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria, and having ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

After Turkey attacked northeastern Syria in October 2019, Russia and the US reached separate ceasefire deals with Ankara, both of which allowed Turkish troops to control the area between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain (Serikaniye).

Despite the agreements, Turkish-backed groups occasionally target areas held by the SDF, the US-led coalition's main partner in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Turkish drone attacks have killed several civilians and fighters in northern Syria since late 2019. Especially in the town of Kobani. In July and October this year, Turkish drone strikes targeted Kobani.

The SDF has earlier called on the United States and Russia to stop the strikes.