German police probe violence at YPG/SDF terror group rallies

BERLIN

German police launched an investigation into a violent assault that left two men injured during a pro-YPG/SDF demonstration, as similar protests turned violent across the country this week.

A 23-year-old man was stabbed with a sharp object and a 20-year-old was beaten when they got into a confrontation with a larger group of demonstration participants, Stuttgart police said in a statement on Friday.

Emergency services transported the 23-year-old to a hospital, while the attackers fled in an unknown direction. Authorities asked witnesses who saw the incident or the assailants to contact the criminal police.

The assault occurred during a demonstration organized Wednesday evening by supporters of the YPG/SDF terror group that descended into chaos as protesters repeatedly ignited pyrotechnics and attacked passing vehicles and police officers.

The demonstrators were protesting the Syrian government's military operations against the YPG/SDF terror group in northeastern Syria. The operations began after the group failed to comply with a ceasefire agreement that required it to withdraw forces east of the Euphrates River and transfer administrative control of key provinces to Damascus.

In Munich, YPG/SDF supporters occupied the Social Democratic Party (SPD) office on Thursday evening, protesting Germany’s coalition government for not intervening against Syrian Army operations and continuing support to Syrian government. The demonstrators carried banners of the YPG group, the Syrian branch of the PKK terror organization. Police removed the activists from the building and launched an investigation into trespassing charges.

Earlier on Thursday in Hamburg, pro-YPG/SDF supporters blocked railway tracks at the main train station, disrupting long-distance and regional train services. During demonstrations in the city center, tensions frequently arose between protesters and police as demonstrators attempted to display YPG flags. Police deployed a large contingent and accompanied the demonstration with water cannons and riot control vehicles.

Supporters of the YPG/SDF terror group have announced further protests and disruptive actions across the country in the coming days.

German authorities estimate that the YPG and its parent organization, the PKK, have more than 15,000 active followers in the country and are pursuing extensive propaganda activities among the Kurdish immigrant population.

The PKK is classified as an ethno-nationalist and separatist terrorist organization by the EU's law enforcement agency, Europol, and has been banned in Germany since 1993.