COUNTY NEWS: Sussex woman dies in Syria fighting with Kurdish unit

A Sussex woman has been killed in Syria while fighting with a Kurdish armed unit.
Anna CampbellAnna Campbell
Anna Campbell

Anna Campbell, 26, reportedly died on Thursday last week (March 15) in the city of Afrin while with the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units, the YPJ, the BBC said.

Ms Campbell, from Lewes, who is feared to have been a victim of a Turkish airstrike, is the first British woman to have been killed in Syria with the Kurds and the first Briton to have died in the battle for Afrin.

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The YPJ is an all-female brigade of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units YPG, which has around 50,000 Kurdish men and women fighting against the Islamic State group (IS) in northern Syria.

The group has been defending the Kurdish-majority city of Afrin from Turkish forces backed by Syrian rebels after they launched an offensive in mid-January.

Ms Campbell, who was a qualified plumber in the UK, travelled to Syria in May last year to help the Kurds in their battle against IS.

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