PYD abducting elderly people in Aleppo: Local sources

By Mohamed Misto

ALEPPO, Syria (AA) – The PYD, the Syrian wing of the PKK terrorist group, has abducted ten elderly people near the city of Afrin in Syria’s northwestern Aleppo province, according to local sources.

The sources, who spoke to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to fears for their safety, said the abductees had been taken to unknown locations after their sons had fled their homes to avoid forced recruitment by the terrorist group.

According to the same sources, the abductees -- whose ages reportedly range between 60 and 75 -- all hail from the villages of Aster and Juwayq on Afrin’s outskirts.

The PYD, local sources assert, is blackmailing young local men to fight for its cause by abducting their elderly relatives.

The group has reportedly established patrols on the road linking Afrin to the Raju district with a view to finding men of military age to press into military service.