ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday called on young Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava) and Kurdish communities in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Europe to “unite” and “join the resistance” as Damascus-affiliated forces advance into the region despite a ceasefire.
“We call on all our youth, our young women and men of Rojava, North, South and East Kurdistan, as well as in Europe, to unite together and break the borders of the occupiers and join the resistance,” the SDF said in a statement.
The call comes amid ongoing clashes between the SDF and Damascus-affiliated factions in northern Syria, despite a ceasefire recently brokered on Sunday under US mediation.
“We declare that we will turn our cities from [al-Malikiya] Derik to Hasaka and Kobane into a graveyard for the new carriers of [the Islamic State] ISIS mentality,” the SDF said, implicitly referring to Damascus-affiliated factions leading the offensive in Rojava.
Earlier on Monday, the SDF accused Damascus-aligned armed groups of decapitating several of their fighters in northeast Syria, releasing a video of it described as a “heinous crime” that was committed and recorded in “the style of” ISIS.