ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Damascus-affiliated factions have carried out “the most despicable acts” against the bodies of Kurdish-led female fighters in Rojava (northeast Syria) during their brutal offensive, the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) warned on Friday, saying they tried to “expose the bodies of female fighters.” 

“In these attacks, primarily women and the components in Northern and Eastern Syria that have been struggling for decades to build a democratic and communal life centered around women were targeted. The most despicable acts were committed against women who occupy positions in the ranks of struggle,” the YPJ said in a statement. 

Damascus-linked factions have tried to “particularly expose the bodies of female fighters,” the statement stressed, adding that their “inhumane acts” will not go unanswered. 

Damascus has launched a brutal offensive against Rojava in a bid to secure interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s vision of a united, centralized Syria, despite the country’s marginalized minorities repeatedly calling for federalism. 

The assault has left hundreds dead and forced Kurdish-led forces, who defeated ISIS in Syria, to cede swathes of territory and withdraw to Hasaka province, with the attacking Syrian forces violating ceasefires, committing human rights violations, and possibly war crimes in their offensive. 

The YPJ further labeled the attacks by the Syrian Arab Army and its affiliates as “major massacres.” 

A video circulating on social media showing a Syrian Arab Army soldier cutting a cut-off braid from a Kurdish female fighter has gone viral on social media, with the individual making comments and mocking the female fighter. 

“Our braided hair has become the fear in our enemy's heart, because victory will definitely belong to women and freedom-loving peoples,” the YPJ asserted.

The all-female Kurdish-led unit called on all women to mobilize against the Syrian army.

“We call on all women to join the mobilization in the spirit of Kobani, to defend dignity around the memory of women's and peoples' existence. Let all our people know that we will never kneel or surrender to the jihadist ISIS [Islamic State] mentality.”

“They wounded and circulated the body of a Kurdish female fighter, thinking this body would become a source of fear and terror against the struggle for women's freedom,” the statement continued. 

A video shared by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday showed a Damascus soldier holding a cut-off ear, celebrating and making jokes, calling the person it was taken from “a pig.”

Other videos online show them mutilating and setting bodies on fire, degrading people by forcing them to bark, and beating them.

The SDF on Friday shared documents of alleged war crimes committed by the Syrian Arab Army and its affiliated groups during their brutal offensive against Rojava, noting that it is a limited sample, as "violations are occurring without documentation."

The SDF is the de facto army in Rojava and the US-led global anti-ISIS coalition’s main partner on the ground. The US and its coalition have remained silent during the campaign against the Kurds, with experts saying that Washington gave the go-ahead.