Shafaq News/ The head of the PYD office in Sulaymaniyah on Thursday condemned the massacre committed by members of the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sharqiya group against Kurdish civilians who lit a fire to celebrate the Newroz in the Jindires district near Syria's Afrin on March 20.

In a press conference attended by Shafaq News Agency, Javedan Kamal, the party's director in Sulaymaniyah, stated that "on the eve of Newruz, a terrorist group affiliated with the armed factions of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, under the umbrella of the so-called National Army, committed a horrific massacre in Jindires, killing four civilian Kurds in the district because they lit a Newruz fire."

"This massacre comes in the context of a series of daily violations that occur in the occupied areas by these groups who receive orders from the Turkish army and its security agencies," said the PYd officer.

Kamal added that "these heinous acts are not the first and will not be the last as long as these areas live under occupation and under the mercy of those armed groups who emerged from terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda."

Kamal extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery for the wounded and injured. He also condemned these criminal acts committed against the people of Afrin.

He urged "international bodies and organizations, including human rights organizations, to stop supporting the Turkish state's policies in the Middle East, as they are the main factor in the instability and funding of terrorism, and to pressure it and its mercenaries to withdraw from the occupied areas to pave the way for peaceful solutions and initiatives proposed to resolve the Syrian crisis and work on creating suitable conditions for the return of indigenous populations to their areas."

Kamal called for an investigation into all operations carried out by the Turkish army against Kurdish civilians.