UPDATED: Turkish forces open fire on protesters in Kobane, 2 killed, 40 injured

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The number of Kobane residents injured by the Turkish military as they protested at the border has risen to 40 and one people, one aged 17-year old, have been killed, according to the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), as Turkish forces continue to use tear gas and live ammunition. 

 


Jinha news reported that Turkish soldiers opened fire on protesters with live ammunition and tear gas. 

Rudaw has also learned that, in addition to the 17-year-old killed, another person was shot dead in the midst of these clashes. 

Kobane residents have been protesting Turkey’s construction of a cement wall along the city’s border with Turkey that, according to Ara News, will come 20 metres across the border, into territory of the self-autonomous Rojava region in northern Syria. 

The Kobane Democratic Autonomous Administration issued a statement on Sunday denouncing what it called Turkish “occupation,” and warned Turkey to stay out of Kobane and all parts of Rojava. 

“We appeal to our people in Kobane to revolt in the face of this occupation and renew the soul of Kobane resistance, embodying the fortress of resistance and the sacrifices of our martyrs.”

Ehmed Sexo, co-president of TEV-DEM, vowed that the protests will continue until they see results. 

Kobane was the site of the first significant victory over the Islamic State when Kurdish forces backed by international airstrikes liberated the city in January 2015.

Ara News reported that Kobane residents and activists feared Turkey was trying to cut off contact between Kurds across the border. “You may build a barrier wall that will reach the sky,” one protester told Ara News, “but you’ll never be able to separate our people.”


Kobane residents have been protesting for days at the border with Turkey. Photo: YPG Twitter/@DefenseUnits