Kurdish forces call for no-fly zone in northern Syria

CAIRO- April 26, 2017 (AFP):Syrian Kurdish forces called on Wednesday for a no-fly zone across the country's north in response to deadly Turkish air strikes the previous day.

"Only (by) declaring north Syria as a no-fly zone can YPG defend the country unhindered. Turkey must adhere to no-fly zone," wrote the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on Twitter.

Its account posted a series of tweets with the hashtag #NoFlyZone4Rojava, using the Kurdish name for Kurdish-majority parts of northern Syria.

The calls came a day after deadly Turkish air raids on a YPG base that killed 28 people, most of them YPG members, and left another 19 wounded, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The YPG has fiercely condemned the strikes and on Wednesday they fired at Turkish positions along the northeast Syria border.
Hundreds of people gathered in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeast Syria on Wednesday to protest the Turkish raids and call for a no-fly zone.

AFP's correspondent saw women in brightly coloured robes marching down a dusty road, holding YPG flags and signs that read "Rojava Demands a No Fly Zone against Turkish aggression".

"This message is not only for Turkey, it's for America and the world to stand in the face of this Turkish aggression with a strong position," said protester Mohammed Mahmoud.