Turkish allies 'execute' politician and 8 civilians in northeast Syria

Hevrin Khalaf, the secretary-general of the Future Syria Party, and her driver were among those reportedly gunned down

A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter fires a weapon in the town of Tal Abyad, Syria October 13, 2019. Reuters

Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters sit in a military truck in the village of Yabisa, near the Turkish-Syrian border, Syria, October 13, 2019. Reuters

Smoke rises over the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, as seen from the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Turkey. The military action is part of a campaign to extend Turkish control of more of northern Syria, a large swath of which is currently held by Syrian Kurds, whom Turkey regards as a threat. U.S. President Donald Trump granted tacit American approval to this campaign, withdrawing his country's troops from several Syrian outposts near the Turkish border. Getty Images

Turkish-based Syrian fighters sit inside an armoured personnel carrier near the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad, as they prepare to take part in the Turkish-led assault on northeastern Syria. Ankara stepped up its assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria, defying mounting threats of international sanctions, even from Washington. AFP

Wounded Turkish-backed Syrian fighters pass Akcakale disrict near Turkey-Syria border wall Akcakale district in Sanliurfa, Turkey. Turkey has launched an offensive targeting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria, days after the US withdrew troops from the area. EPA

A Turkish-backed Syrian rebel rests as they gather near the border town of Ras al-Ain, as Turkey and it's allies continued their assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria. Turkey kept up its assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria on Saturday on the fourth day of an offensive that is drawing growing international condemnation, even from Washington. AFP

People mourn in front of the grave of Halil Yagmur who was killed in a mortar attack a day earlier in Suruc near northern Syria border, during funeral ceremony in Suruc. Ten Turkish civilians were killed in cross-border shelling on Friday, while four of Turkey's soldiers died as Ankara pressed on with its offensive against Kurdish militants in Syria. Eight civilians were killed and 35 injured in one mortar strike in Nusaybin in Mardin province, according to the governor's office cited by local media. AFP

A group of Turkey-backed Syrian fighters prepares for offensive at a village near Turkish border in Yabisa, Syria in this still image taken from a video. Reuters

A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter sits with his weapon near the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria. REUTERS

This picture taken Turkey near the town of Suruc shows a US observation post near the Syrian town of Kobani Kobane where the Pentagon said an explosion occurred "within a few hundred meters." The US said on October 11, 2019 its troops had come under artillery fire and warned that the US was prepared to meet aggression with "immediate defensive action," but Turkey denied targeting the US base. Turkey's Defense minister said they had returned fire after Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) shelled a Turkish border police station from hills located one kilometre (1,100 yards) away from the observation post. US troops pulled back from positions along the Turkey-Syria border last week ahead of a Turkish operation against Kurdish militants in Syria. The YPG was a close ally of the US in its fight against the Islamic State group but is seen by Ankara as a "terrorist" off-shoot of Kurdish insurgents in Turkey. AFP

A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter holds the Syrian opposition flag near the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria. REUTERS

Relatives mourn during a funeral of a Syrian Democratic Forces fighter in the Syrian town of Qamishli, Turkey's military says it has captured a key Syrian border town Ras al-Ayn under heavy bombardment in its most significant gain as its offensive against Kurdish fighters presses into its fourth day. AP Photo

Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters evacuate an injured fellow combatant in Tel Abyad, Syria. AP

Syrians bury Syrian Democratic Forces fighters killed fighting Turkish advance in the Syrian town of Qamishli, Turkey's military says it has captured a key Syrian border town Ras al-Ayn under heavy bombardment in its most significant gain as its offensive against Kurdish fighters presses into its fourth day. AP Photo

Turkish police special forces patrol in Akcakale on the Turkish-Syrian border, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. REUTERS

A Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighter holds a weapon as he stands with his fellow fighters near the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria. REUTERS

A Turkish military armoured vehicle fires towards the Syrian town of Tal Abyad from the Turkish side of the border in Akcakale, Turkey. The military action is part of a campaign to extend Turkish control of more of northern Syria, a large swath of which is currently held by Syrian Kurds, whom Turkey regards as a threat. U.S. President Donald Trump granted tacit American approval to this campaign, withdrawing his country's troops from several Syrian outposts near the Turkish border. Getty Images

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu visits the Syrian border, in Akcakale district in Sanliurfa, Turkey. Turkey has launched an offensive targeting Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria, days after the US withdrew troops from the area. EPA

Syrian patient Fatima al-Issa who was hit by shrapnel during Turkish bombardment of Ras al-Ain, receives treatment at a hospital in the town of Tal Tamr in the countryside of Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province. Ankara stepped up its assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria in an offensive that has so far displaced some 100,000 people, according to the United Nations, while aid groups have warned of yet another humanitarian disaster in Syria's eight-year-old war if the offensive is not stopped. AFP

Pro-Ankara fighters taking part in a Turkish offensive on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria have "executed" at least nine civilians including a female politician on Saturday, a monitor said.

"The nine civilians were executed at different moments south of the town of Tal Abyad," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said.

Local Kurdish authorities named the Kurdish political leader as Hevrin Khalaf, and said her driver was also among those killed.

Khalaf, 35, was "taken out of her car during a Turkish-backed attack and executed by Turkish-backed mercenary factions", the political arm of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said.

"This is clear evidence that the Turkish state is continuing its criminal policy towards unarmed civilians," it said.

Khalaf was the secretary-general of the Future Syria Party.

Mutlu Civiroglu, a specialist in Kurdish politics, described her death as a "great loss".

"She had a talent for diplomacy, she used to always take part in meetings with the Americans, the French, the foreign delegations."

Turkey and its allied fighters began the offensive on Wednesday to push back the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, from its border.

The allied fighters are Syrian former rebels and hardliners who once fought against President Bashar Al Assad's regime.

But the conflict has morphed since erupting in 2011, and these factions now receive training and funding from Ankara.

Kurdish activists circulated two videos on social media of the killings.

The first, posted on the Twitter account of the Ahrar Al Sharqiya rebel group, shows two people in civilian clothes kneeling on the ground as a fighter next to them announces they have been captured by the faction.

In the second, an unidentified fighter opens fire at a person on the ground wearing civilian attire.

The Observatory confirmed the authenticity of the videos but they could not independently verified.

The killings bring the death toll among Syrian civilians to 38 since the assault started late last week, the Observatory said.

It says 81 Kurdish fighters have been killed in the clashes.

Ankara says the YPG is a "terrorist" group with links to Kurdish rebels in Turkey who have been waging an insurgency for three decades.

Later on Saturday, the Syrian National Army, the banner under which the Ankara-allied former rebels fight, said it had ordered commanders to "continuously supervise combatants on the frontlines to prevent any abuse".

Perpetrators of possible abuses "would face the most severe sanctions and be brought to justice for military disobedience", it said.