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More than 70 Kurdish civilians killed as Islamist rebels violate truce in Syria’s Aleppo

ARA News

ALEPPO – Syrian Islamist rebels bombed Kurdish villages in the Afrin region of the northwestern countryside of Aleppo on Sunday, killing and injuring dozens of civilians.

Afrin region, which is held by Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), was exposed to heavy mortar shelling on Sunday evening.

“At least 72 civilians were killed and dozens more wounded in the bombardment,” rights activist Rezan Hiddo told ARA News in Afrin.

Main groups that participated in bombing Afrin were the Ahrar al-Sham Movement and al-Nusra Front, Kurdish military sources reported.

The attacks targeted populated areas in the villages of Pashmera, Gunde Mazin and Basufan in Afrin countryside. Similar attacks were reported in the Sheikh Maqsoud district in Aleppo.

This comes just two days after a two-week truce came into effect in Syria.

“The Islamist rebels took the advantage of the current ceasefire to attack the Kurdish region,” a spokesman for the YPG told ARA News.

“We have announced our full commitment to the ceasefire. But we will not remain silent as our areas are being exposed to deadly offensives by the Islamists. If the bombardment continues, our forces will respond,” the Kurdish official said.  

The U.N. Security Council approved Friday a US-Russian draft resolution endorsing the Syria ceasefire. A cessation of hostilities started across the war-torn country. However, several violations have been documented, especially at the hands of Islamists in the Kurdish region in northern Syria. 

Reporting by: Siman Jiwan

Source: ARA News

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