In a resolution marking the ten-year anniversary of the beginning of the ongoing catastrophic Syrian conflict, the European Parliament called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from northern Syria and expressed worries that its operations could amount to ethnic cleansing against Syrian Kurds.

” (The European Parliament) calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops from Northern Syria which it is illegally occupying outside of any UN mandate; condemns Turkey’s illegal transfers of Kurdish Syrians from occupied Northern Syria to Turkey for detention and prosecution in violation of Turkey’s international obligations under the Geneva Conventions; urges that all Syrian detainees who have been transferred to Turkey be immediately repatriated to the occupied territories in Syria; is worried that Turkey’s ongoing displacements could amount to ethnic cleansing against the Syrian Kurdish population; stresses that Turkey’s illegal invasion and occupation has jeopardised peace in Syria, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean; firmly condemns Turkey’s use of Syrian mercenaries in conflicts in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, in violation of international law;”

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi said in a post on his Twitter account that the SDF welcomes “the EU parliament’s resolution calling for the withdrawal of the illegal Turkish occupation forces from northern Syria.” Abdi added that the SDF shares “the EU parliament’s concerns over ethnic cleansing attempts by Turkey against Kurds in Syria.”

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a Friday statement that it categorically rejected the “unfounded allegations” by the European parliament against its government, “which has embraced millions of Syrians and shouldered heavy responsibilities due to the conflict.”

“We reject the uninformed, unfounded, and malicious allegations against our country” adopted by the European Parliament’s General Assembly on the 10th anniversary of the Syrian conflict, Turkey’s parliament speaker  Mustafa Şentop said on Twitter.

Click here to watch the The European Post reportage from Kobane, Northern Syria