Erdogan: Kurdish Militia in Syria Will Be Buried If They Do Not Lay Down Arms

A Syrian Kurd waves the flag of YPG (People's Protection Units) near Qamishli's airport in northeastern Syria on December 8, 2024, following the fall of the capital Damascus to anti-government fighters. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
A Syrian Kurd waves the flag of YPG (People's Protection Units) near Qamishli's airport in northeastern Syria on December 8, 2024, following the fall of the capital Damascus to anti-government fighters. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
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Erdogan: Kurdish Militia in Syria Will Be Buried If They Do Not Lay Down Arms

A Syrian Kurd waves the flag of YPG (People's Protection Units) near Qamishli's airport in northeastern Syria on December 8, 2024, following the fall of the capital Damascus to anti-government fighters. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)
A Syrian Kurd waves the flag of YPG (People's Protection Units) near Qamishli's airport in northeastern Syria on December 8, 2024, following the fall of the capital Damascus to anti-government fighters. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Kurdish fighters in Syria will either lay down their weapons or "be buried", amid hostilities between Türkiye-backed Syrian fighters and the militants since the fall of Bashar al-Assad this month.
Following Assad's departure, Ankara has repeatedly insisted that the Kurdish YPG group must disband, asserting that the group has no place in Syria's future. The change in Syria's leadership has left the country's main Kurdish factions on the back foot.
"The separatist murderers will either bid farewell to their weapons, or they will be buried in Syrian lands along with their weapons," Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament.
"We will eradicate the terrorist organization that is trying to weave a wall of blood between us and our Kurdish siblings," he added.
Türkiye views the Kurdish YPG group- the main component of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. Ankara has repeatedly called on its NATO ally Washington and others to stop supporting the YPG.
Earlier, Türkiye's defense ministry said the armed forces had killed 21 YPG-PKK militants in northern Syria and Iraq.
In a Reuters interview last week, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi acknowledged the presence of PKK fighters in Syria for the first time, saying they had helped battle ISIS and would return home if a total ceasefire was agreed with Türkiye, a core demand from Ankara.
He denied any organizational ties with the PKK.
Erdogan also said Türkiye would soon open its consulate in Aleppo, and added Ankara expected an increase in traffic at its borders in the summer of next year, as some of the millions of Syrian migrants it hosts begin returning.



Israel Intercepts Missile from Yemen, Military Says

A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile as others wave the flags of Palestine (R) and Yemen (L) during a protest in Sanaa, Yemen, 17 March 2025 against US airstrikes on Houthi positions. (EPA)
A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile as others wave the flags of Palestine (R) and Yemen (L) during a protest in Sanaa, Yemen, 17 March 2025 against US airstrikes on Houthi positions. (EPA)
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Israel Intercepts Missile from Yemen, Military Says

A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile as others wave the flags of Palestine (R) and Yemen (L) during a protest in Sanaa, Yemen, 17 March 2025 against US airstrikes on Houthi positions. (EPA)
A Houthi supporter carries a mock missile as others wave the flags of Palestine (R) and Yemen (L) during a protest in Sanaa, Yemen, 17 March 2025 against US airstrikes on Houthi positions. (EPA)

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had intercepted a projectile launched from Yemen that crossed into Israeli territory.

Sirens had earlier sounded in several areas of Israel.

The Iran-backed Houthi group has repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what it has described as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The firing of the projectile came after Israel resumed airstrikes against targets in Gaza that killed more than 400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities, in an onslaught that ended weeks of relative calm after talks to secure a permanent ceasefire stalled.