PIJ urges interim Syrian gov't to free activists held in Damascus
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad requested the Syrian government to release its two leaders detained by the Syrian authorities for no apparent reason.
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Members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Resistance group march, during a military parade in Gaza City, on October 4, 2018 (AFP)
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has demanded that Syrian authorities release its senior activists who were recently detained in Damascus, according to a Tuesday statement from the movement's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades.
"You have detained two of our best activists. PIJ head for Syria Khaled Khaled and head of PIJ organizing committee in Syria Yasir al-Zafri," the statement, published on Telegram, stated, adding that we in Al-Quds Brigades hope that the brothers in the Syrian government will free our brothers."
The detainment, reportedly carried out on Sunday evening, was made without explanation and came as a surprise to the militant group, which viewed Syria as an allied nation.
The Al-Quds Brigades have confirmed that new Syrian authorities have detained Khaled Khaled, its leader for Syria, and Yasser al-Zafri, head of its executive committee, for five days without providing any explanation for their arrest.
"We have been fighting the Zionist enemy for over a year and a half without capitulation, and we hope for support and recognition from our Arab brothers, not the other way around," the statement read.