Approximately 800 people crossed the border into Turkish territory on Tuesday to escape fighting that raged in Tal Abyad between the Kurdish YPG militiamen and ISIS elements who re-entered the border town.
Turkish authorities have allowed the refugees to enter Turkish territory through Akcakale border crossing, while Turkish ambulances moved five injured people to a government hospital for treatment.
A fact-finding committee set up by the Syrian Coalition looking into reports of violations in the Tal Abyad area concluded that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militias. This armed wing of the YPD committed widespread violations against the civilian population in the area.
This committee asked YPG militias to give it access to the Tal Abyad area and assess the situation through listening to witness accounts and to assess the size of the reported violations. However, the YPG militias repeatedly rejected the demands of the committee which waited at the border crossing for several days. This reinforced fears of the displaced persons who did not dare to return to their homes despite the border gate opening.
The Syrian Coalition calls for the United Nations to immediately send an international investigation mission to enter Tal Abyad and the surrounding villages to look into the violations committed by the YPG and also demands that those responsible for these violations are held to account.
The Syrian Coalition calls upon the international anti-ISIS coalition to neutralize civilians in the conflict zones and not fall for false allegations about the presence of terrorists in areas already void of ISIS militants. The YPG militias have repeatedly threatened the local population to leave their villages or they will give the coordinates of their villages to the international anti-ISIS coalition to bomb on the pretext that ISIS militants are holed up inside these villages. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Anadolu)
