At least three people were killed and a large number of others including children were injured when members of the YPG/PKK terrorist group opened fire on a crowd gathered at the funeral of activist Hussein Jamil al-Zawbaa in Syria’s Deir el-Zour on Wednesday. Al-Zawbaa himself was killed at a checkpoint set up by the terrorist group on Tuesday.

A crowd gathered in the village of Deir el-Zour at a condolence gathering, blocking a road, when YPG/PKK terrorists indiscriminately opened fire to disperse them, according to local media outlets. Most victims were relatives of al-Zawbaa whose death triggered protests against the terrorist group which controls parts of northern Syria.

Al-Zawbaa was among the prominent figures in the region opposing the YPG/PKK’s presence in rural parts of Deir ez-Zour and a vocal opponent of the group’s scheme to exclude the local population from oil revenues it controlled. The area controlled by the terrorist group since 2019 is home to rich oil and gas fields and locals often stage protests against its presence in the region.

Last month, locals in eastern Deir el-Zour started a series of protests due to deteriorating living conditions and the corruption in the region under the control of the terrorist group. Dozens of protesters gathered in Havayic Busama and al-Jurzi in the countryside of Deir el-Zour to protest corruption in the so-called "municipal councils" of the PKK/YPG. Demonstrators protesting deteriorating conditions in the oil-rich region demanded the PKK/YPG be held accountable and the so-called "municipal councils" changed.

Local people living in areas held by the PKK/YPG have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist organization has a notorious record of human rights abuses, ranging from kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement in Syria. The PKK/YPG has forced young people from areas under its control to join its forces within the so-called "compulsory conscription in the duty of self-defense."

Türkiye, which has mounted four operations in northern Syria since 2016, last year vowed to conduct a new operation against YPG/PKK terrorists that control swathes of territory near the Turkish border. Among the potential targets are Manbij and Tal Rifaat. Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful resettlement of residents: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019.