ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations has expressed deep concern over the desecration of the body of a Kurdish female fighter by Damascus-affiliated forces in Aleppo, calling for those responsible to be held accountable and urging the Syrian leadership and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to return to the negotiating table.
Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told Rudaw's Namo Abdulla, “I have seen these reports,” in reference to viral footage depicting Damascus-affiliated militants throwing the body of a Kurdish female fighter from a high-floor building.
“They are extremely disturbing, to say the least,” Dujarric said, adding that “of course, in all of these cases, there needs to be accountability.”
The desecration occurred amid heavy clashes last week that pitted the Syrian Arab Army and its affiliated armed factions on one side and the Kurdish Internal Security Forces (Asayish) on another, in Aleppo’s Kurdish majority neighborhoods of Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood.
The violence left at least 82 people dead, including 43 civilians, according to a Sunday report from the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), and displaced around 150,000 people, the Erbil-based Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) told Rudaw a day earlier.
An internationally mediated ceasefire came into effect on Sunday. Despite this, videos circulated online showing Damascus-affiliated militants rounding up, arresting, and verbally abusing Kurdish civilians. Social media users have also shared images and videos of relatives who they say have gone missing since the violence began.
The Syrian Arab Army on Tuesday declared several areas in eastern Aleppo - namely Deir Hafer, Maskanah and surrounding areas - “closed military zones.”
Just days after halting its military operations in Aleppo’s Kurdish areas, the Syrian Arab Army on Tuesday declared several areas in eastern Aleppo - namely Deir Hafer, Maskanah, and surrounding areas - “closed military zones.”
The announcement followed claims by Damascus that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which serve as the de facto army of northeast Syria (Rojava), are reinforcing their military presence in the area - allegations the Kurdish-led forces have firmly denied.