3 yıl önce

Mass grave of PKK/YPG victims found in Syria: Turkish defence ministry

The discovery adds to the accusations that the terrorist group has committed war crimes.

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YPG/PKK terror group has not just targeted Turkish forces but also attacked civilians inside Syria for years.

A mass grave containing the bodies of 35 people killed by the PKK/YPG terrorist group has been found in Syria's Afrin district, Turkish defence ministry said.

Excavations are still ongoing at the site and there's a possibility that more dead bodies can be unearthed in an area that was under the control of YPG/PKK terrorists until Turkish forces pushed them out in 2018.

“Another war crime of the terrorist organisation PKK/YPG came to the light,” the ministry said in a tweet on Wednesday.

YPG, which masquerades as a group that fought Daesh, faces numerous accusations of assassinations, bombings and other attacks against civilians.

The Turkish defence ministry said excavation was carried out at an empty plot in an Afrin neighbourhood where PKK/YPG terrorists had buried victims in January 2018.

“35 bodies were found in sacks following the excavation conducted under the supervision of a prosecutor,” the statement said.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a series of successful anti-terror operations — Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019) — across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable settlements for Syrian refugees.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the far-left PKK, which is listed as a terror organisation by Turkey, the US, and EU, has killed nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.