A journalists’ association has claimed that two journalists working for Kurdish media outlets were killed in northern Syria while covering fighting between Turkish-backed fighters and Syrian Kurdish militiamen. Fighting continues in some areas of Syria despite the fall of President Bashar Assad.
The Turkey-based Dicle-Firat Journalists Association stated on Friday that Nazim Dastan and Cihan Bilgin died on Thursday after their vehicle was allegedly targeted by a Turkish drone on a road near the Tishrin Dam.
The Tishrin Dam, located about 90 kilometers east of Aleppo, has been the scene of clashes between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed opposition forces.
There has been no comment from Turkish officials so far.
Bianet, a news website dedicated to human rights issues, said Bilgin was a reporter for the Kurdish news agency Hawar, while Dastan worked as a freelance journalist for the Firat news agency, associated with the militant group Workers’ Party. Kurdistan (PKK).
Türkiye considers the Self-Defense Forces a terrorist organization because its main component is a group related to the PKK. The group has maintained an armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s in pursuit of its goal of guaranteeing the autonomy of the country’s Kurds.
On the other hand, the director of the UN migration agency affirms that the large-scale return of Syrians to their homeland at this time would “overwhelm” the country.
The Syrian civil war has displaced millions of people since 2011. The fall of Bashar Assad’s government earlier this month has fueled talk in some of the countries they went to about the return of refugees.
Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration, told reporters Friday after returning from a visit to Syria that her agency’s message to countries in Europe and elsewhere is that “this is not the time to talk of returns on a large scale.”
Pope said communities “are simply not prepared to absorb the displaced people who would return.” He argued that if “an overwhelming number” of people return, “it will overwhelm the country and could have a more disruptive impact on a very fragile peace process.”
Pope said it is right to support people on a case-by-case basis who want to return home or know their place of origin is safe, but efforts must now focus on the humanitarian situation, recovery and reconstruction.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
This article was published by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on 2024-12-20 11:09:00
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