After Turkey’s intense air strikes on North and East Syria and Northern Iraq launched in the early hours of Sunday 20 November, Kurds living in Europe took to the streets to protest.

Upon the call of the European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E), demonstrations were held on Sunday in several European cities, and continued throughout the day.

Grîgny Mayor Philippe Rio and Deputy Mayor Evelyne Lebriand attended a march in the Evry district of Paris.

Supporting the resistance of the Kurdish people, Rio described Turkey’s cross-border bombardment as “illegitimate”.

“We see you being sacrificed by geopolitical games in the face of the impotence of political forces and the world, and the persecution of the Kurdish people in the face of Turkish power,” Rio said.

Following the air strikes launched by the Turkish Armed Forces in the early hours of Sunday morning, MEPs spoke out on social media and stated that Turkey has violated international law and called on NATO and the European Commission to stop Turkey’s attacks.

More than two dozen people, including a journalist, were killed in the Turkish air strikes on the region. Fourteen Syrian soldiers were also killed in the attacks.

The Turkish Ministry of Defence announced that the Turkish Armed Forces hit 89 targets in North and East Syria and Northern Iraq in the air strikes.

Turkey argues that the air operations comply with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, describing the air strikes as self-defence, after blaming Kurdish groups for a blast on 13 November in Istanbul that killed six civilians.

However, the Kurdish groups have unanimously condemned the Istanbul attack, and declared that they had no involvement.