A mass grave was found in Syria containing dozens of bodies
Turkey announced that it had found a mass grave containing dozens of bodies in northwest Syria under its control, accusing Kurdish fighters backed by the United States of being responsible.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday evening that 35 bodies had been found inside jute bags in the Afrin region, which was under the control of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) until Ankara expelled it from it in 2018 during a military operation.
The Turkish ministry blamed the YPG for this "war crime".
The governor of Hatay, Turkey, which borders Syria, said Thursday that the number of bodies found was now 61.
"Search operations are continuing and I believe this number will rise," Governor Rahmi Dogan was quoted by the Anadolu Agency as saying.
Dogan said that the bodies that were found belong to civilians who were executed by the People's Protection Units, according to him, days before the start of the Turkish attack on Afrin in 2018, without giving evidence of his accusations.
Agence France-Presse was not immediately able to verify the allegations.
Turkey regularly accuses the People's Protection Units, which it classifies as "terrorist", of committing "crimes against humanity", including arbitrary executions and forced displacement of the population.
The YPG rejects these accusations and accuses Turkey and groups of Syrian fighters backed by Ankara of committing various atrocities.
The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) has the support of many Western countries, including the United States and France, and has been on the front lines in the fight against ISIS in Syria.
Several mass graves have been found in recent years in Syria, which has been witnessing a civil war since 2011. Responsibility for them has been attributed to ISIS.
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