Turkey-backed Syrian rebels on Monday opened fire on Kurds that were celebrating the Kurdish new year, Newroz, killing and wounding several from the town of Jindires in the Aleppo governorate, northwest Syria, opposition Syrian activists said.
According to war watchdog Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Turkey-backed Ahrar Al-Sharqiyah fighters opened fire on Kurdish civilians from the village of Haykaja in Jindires while they were lighting fires to celebrate Newroz.
Four Kurds died and two others were seriously wounded after the Syrian National Army (SNA) affiliated fighters opened fire following a verbal altercation between members of the faction and local citizens, reported North Press.
Military police and members of the Ahrar Al-Sharqiyah factions were in high alert after the incident and armed groups blocked roads to western Jindires, said SOHR.
In the hours after the shooting, Kurds from Jindires took to the streets, Associated Press reported. Some travelled in a convoy to the town of Atmeh, about nine miles away, where protesters called on the al-Qaida-linked group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, to seize control of Jindires from the Turkish-backed militias, the news agency added.
The incident underlines escalating tensions between Turkey-backed fighters and Kurdish civilians in Jindires, the countryside around Afrin, controlled by SNA factions since 2018.
Jindires was severely affected by the 6 February twin earthquakes centred in Turkey.
Newroz, traditionally observed on 21 March, holds a symbolic value for Kurds who gather around fires to celebrate the arrival of spring.