YPG/PKK terror group detains 16 media workers in Syria

By Ethem Emre Ozcan and Esref Musa

ANKARA (AA) - Sixteen members of the local media were reportedly detained by the terrorist group YPG/PKK in the eastern Syrian province of Raqqa.

In a written statement, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), which tracks human rights abuses against civilians in Syria, claimed that the YPG/PKK terrorist group under the guise of the so-called SDF detained 16 members of the local media on Saturday in Raqqa, which the group seized earlier.

The statement urged the immediate release of the local media employees, who were detained by the terror group under the pretext of "espionage," stressing the need to protect press workers.

The network condemned the YPG/PKK terrorists' abduction of journalists and said the terror group has taken steps to end press freedom in the territories it controls.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian branch.