One person died in the southern province of Mersin yesterday following a protest against the offensive by Syrian interim government forces targeting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
MP Ali Bozan from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party announced the death on social media, stating that a gunman opened fire on protesters.
"Down with your enmity! I am at a loss for words. After our Rojava protest in the Tarsus Gazipaşa neighborhood, a murderer who opened fire on our dispersing youth shot 24-year-old Baran Abdi from Kobanî, who was on his balcony, in the head and killed him," Bozan wrote.
The incident occurred after demonstrators continued the protest in side streets after the police response to the initial gathering in the Tarsus district. A person opened fire on the group, shooting Abdi in the head while he was standing on the balcony of his home, according to the MP. He was transported to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
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Perihan Koca, another MP from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, claimed the attack was carried out by a member of the nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) identified as H.K.
The offensive by the Syrian interim government, which began in early January, has triggered several protests by Kurds in Turkey. The interim administration captured Arab-majority provinces such as Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor during the escalation.
The SDF, which controlled nearly a quarter of Syrian territory for years, currently maintains control over parts of Al-Hasakah province and the town of Kobanî in Aleppo province. A ceasefire was declared on Jan 20.
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