Syria frees 6 Kurds over Turkey's threat to strike Kurdish rebels

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Syria has released six Kurds detained for nearly two months over protests against Turkey's threat to strike Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, a human rights group said Tuesday. The six were ordered released Monday by a criminal court in the province of al-Hasaka, 440 miles northeast of Damascus, the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, or NOHR, said in a statement. There was no immediate confirmation from Syrian officials, who usually do not comment on domestic security matters, including detention and release of political activists. The six were detained, along with 20 other Kurds on Nov. 2 for participating in a sit-in protest against Turkey's plans to attack Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq and also to demand the release of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan held in Turkey.