This archive report was first published on 13 October 2019.
On October 12, 2019, a video emerged showing Turkish-backed militants in Syria killing at least two Kurdish prisoners, one of whom was shot while lying on the ground with his hands bound behind his back.
The killings occurred near the Syrian town of Tal Abyad after the rebel group Ahrar al-Sharqiyeh, supported by Turkey, took control of a road near the border and began stopping passing cars.
According to Al-Harith Rabah, a media activist with the rebel group, the militants killed nine Kurdish fighters, including the two prisoners, after clashes erupted when military vehicles belonging to the Kurdish-led militia passed through the area.
Rabah claimed that the second prisoner was killed after he tried to flee, but a video published by the group on Twitter shows the prisoner sitting passively on the side of the road, dabbing blood from his nose.
The killings are a stark illustration of the sectarian violence that has erupted in Syria since the United States withdrew its troops, allowing Turkey to launch a military incursion into the country's northeast.
As the conflict escalates, thousands of ISIS fighters remain in camps and prisons controlled by the Kurdish-led militia, fueling fears that they could escape and wreak havoc on the region.
