Syria: Kurdish SDF commander killed by Turkish drone strike
Kurdish forces commander Salwa Yusuk was killed by a Turkish drone attack (illustration image).
GETTY/AFP/File
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Salwa Yusuk was hit along with two other Syrian Democratic Forces fighters by a Turkish drone strike on Friday July 22.
This strike highlights the differences between the Turks and their allies against the Kurds.
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Since May, Turkey has been threatening to launch an operation against the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria to create a buffer zone along its border with this group which it describes as terrorist.
Faced with the reluctance of other regional players, Ankara has not yet taken action.
But
the Turkish army multiplies the strikes in Kurdistan
: Wednesday in Iraq, Friday in Syria.
It was the latter that claimed the lives of Salwa Yusuk and two other Syrian Democratic Forces fighters.
Salwa Yusuk was the SDF commander in charge of joint operations with the international coalition engaged in the fight against the Islamic State organization.
The SDF Chief of Staff described the three women on Twitter as "
heroines
" who "
saved humanity from the clutches
" of the terrorist organization.
This Turkish strike "
undermines the war against the Islamic State
", he continues.
And he tries to mobilize his partners against Turkey, asking them to increase their efforts so that Ankara stops its strikes.
Also on Twitter, the American central command praised the "
essential
" role played by Salwa Yusuk and offered its condolences to the family and the people of northeastern Syria.
The US military does not talk about the Kurds and does not point the finger at Turkey, its ally in NATO, but this tweet earned it a reply from the Turkish press agency for which it "
praises 'a terrorist
'.
Salwa Yusuk (AKA Ciyan Afrin) a Deputy Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - along with 2 fellow female fighters - was killed in an attack near Qamishli, Syria, on July 22, 2022.
[1 of 2] pic.twitter .com/En887gyU1f
— US Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 24, 2022
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