Qamishli buries SDF fighters killed in clashes with Damascus forces
Shafaq News– Qamishli
Residents of the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli held funeral ceremonies on Wednesday for ten fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), killed in ongoing clashes with Syria’s government forces in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Aleppo.
The funeral ceremonies drew a large turnout despite poor
weather conditions, with chants affirming continued defense of the region and
praising Kurdish forces.
Speaking to Shafaq News, Suleiman Shikho, one of the organizers, said that funeral rites were held for six of the fighters, while four others were commemorated in absentia.
The SDF General Command member Rohlat Afrin, meanwhile, warned in a speech that what she described as a plan targeting the land and gains of local communities amounted to an attempt at “extermination” against their people.
Participant Sarhad Hassan told our agency that Kurdish
fighters were sacrificing their lives to defend their land and cities amid
“international silence,” arguing that they were being targeted for demanding
self-administration and rejecting external domination or the return of
authoritarian rule.
Clashes between government forces and the SDF continued despite extending the ceasefire for 15 days on January 24, with both sides trading accusations of breaching the truce.
