Syria: YPG/PKK opens fire on protest against France

By Mohamad Misto and Muhammed Temin Hocaoglu

DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (AA) - YPG/PKK terrorists in eastern Syria opened fire on people protesting against the publishing of insulting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in France, injuring four people.

One of the injured is in critical condition.

People took to the streets in the Deir ez-Zor region, which is under YPG/PKK terror group’s occupation, against the display of the insulting caricatures on some public buildings in France.

The protesters, including students and teachers, called for the withdrawal of French soldiers from the country.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

In recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron attacked Islam and the Muslim community, accusing Muslims of "separatism" and describing Islam as "a religion in crisis all over the world".

This coincided with a provocative move by Charlie Hebdo, a left-wing French magazine infamous for publishing anti-Islamic caricatures, which have drawn widespread anger and outrage across the Muslim world.

Last month, the magazine republished caricatures insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad.

The caricatures were first published in 2006 by a Danish newspaper Jylllands Posten, sparking a wave of protests.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara