- Title: Funerals held for Kurdish fighters killed in northeast Syria
- Date: 22nd October 2019
- Summary: SDF FIGHTER CARRYING WEAPON SDF FIGHTERS AND CIVILIANS LISTENING TO SPEECH CROWD LISTENING TO SPEECH MOURNERS SITTING BY CEMETERY PICTURE OF DEAD FIGHTER ON GRAVE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QAMISHLI RESIDENT, DARIA RAMADAN, SAYING: "To be honest there are fears, unless there is international intervention by the United Nations or the Russian supporters. A political, unanimous solution from all sides must be found. The people of northeastern Syria must not be deprived of a political solution that is agreed upon by all of Syria. There are victims, thousands of martyrs, as the self-ruled government tries to fight the terrorist group ISIS." MEN AT CEMETERY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QAMISHLI RESIDENT, YASSIN MUHAMED, SAYING: "God willing, we will expect a better future. The Syrian state is a father to all. There is no fear of self-rule or a federal state. We are one people, we are tied to the centre. We are one economy, one people." WOMEN CHANTING AND MAKING PEACE SIGN WOMAN'S HAND MAKING PEACE SIGN WOMEN MAKING PEACE SIGNS AT CEMETERY
- Embargoed: 5th November 2019 14:38
- Keywords: Syria Syrian Democratic Forces Kurdish fighters Politics Security Funeral Qamishli
- Location: QAMISHLI, SYRIA
- City: QAMISHLI, SYRIA
- Country: Syria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA003B26IZ47
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces and residents of the Syrian town of Qamishli held funerals for fighters killed during clashes in the northeastern town of Ras al-Ain on Tuesday (October 22).
The crowd and coffin bearers chanted "martyrs" during the funeral procession and one mourner, Daria Ramadan, pleaded for an intervention by the U.N. or ''Russian allies".
Turkey says it wants to set up a "safe zone" along 440 km (275 miles) of border with northeast Syria, but its assault so far has focused on two border towns in the centre of that strip, Ras al Ain and Tel Abyad, about 120 km apart.
Some 300,000 people have been displaced by Turkey's offensive and 120 civilians have been killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor. It said on Sunday 259 fighters with the Kurdish-led forces had been killed, and 196 Turkey-backed Syrian rebels.
Turkey says 765 "terrorists" but no civilians have been killed in its offensive.
A five-day truce in Turkey's cross-border offensive to allow the withdrawal of Kurdish YPG fighters from the border area ends at 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Tuesday.
(Production: Antony Paone, Nadeen Ebrahim) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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