Hundreds of Syrian Kurds protest in Afrin against Turkey offensive

Hundreds of Kurds bused in from across northern Syria demonstrated Tuesday in Afrin to support residents of the enclave that Turkey attacked last month, AFP said. The demonstrators, most of whom had come from Qamishli and Hassakeh, the two main cities in northeastern Syria’s Kurdish heartland, marched in the town center. Ankara fears the consolidation of Kurdish influence along its border and describes the Kurdish militia there as a terrorist group. Many Syrian Kurds feel their forces are being poorly rewarded for doing much of the heavy lifting in some of the toughest battles against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) over the past three years. Protests have been staged in Syria’s Kurdish areas as well as by the Kurdish diaspora in the region and beyond to demand action against Turkey and greater US support.