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British woman killed fighting in Syria's Afrin
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Syrian Kurds wave the Kurdish flag and flags bearing the logos of the People's Protection Units (YPG) Women's Protection Units (YPJ) as they chant slogans in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, during a demonstration on February 2, 2018 against the military operation by the Turkish army against the Kurdish YPG forces in Syria's Afrin.
(AFP/SAFIN HAMED )
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British woman fighting alongside Kurdish forces in the Syrian region of Afrin has been killed in a Turkish-led offensive on the area, a spokeswoman for the forces said Monday.
Anna Campbell was killed last week in the Afrin enclave, said Nisrin Abdallah, a spokeswoman for the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ).
"She died on March 15, 2018 in Turkish shelling" during fighting for Afrin city, Abdallah told AFP.
"We learned of her death yesterday and communicated with her parents," she said, confirming that Campbell was from Lewes in East Sussex.
Anna Campbell from East Sussex aged 26 was killed by artillery fire by Turkey on Saturday 17th March. She had been defending Afrin with the YPJ from invasion by Turkey and its jihadists.
Sehid namirin! The martyrs are immortal! 🌹https://t.co/1r0UHNstUP pic.twitter.com/ZdyAw82JcU
— Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign (@KurdsCampaign) March 19, 2018
Ankara and allied Syrian rebels began their assault on the Afrin region on January 20, seizing most of the canton before capturing its urban centre on Sunday.
They swept into the city after the fighters from the YPJ and its male counterpart, the People's Protection Units (YPG), appeared to withdraw.
Abdallah said Campbell joined the YPJ in May 2017 but had not been deployed to the front line until this month.
"After the attack on Afrin, she insisted on being sent there," Abdallah said.
Hundreds of foreign fighters have fought alongside the YPG and YPJ in Syria, mostly backing the Kurdish militia in its battle against the Islamic State jihadist group.
At least two were killed last month in the Afrin assault.
French national Olivier Francois Jean Le Clainche, 41, and Spanish national Samuel Prada Leon, 25, were killed elsewhere in the Afrin enclave in February.
