Ryan Lock, a chef from Chichester in England, has been killed in Syria’s Jaeber village fighting for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) against ISIS.
The 20 year old was killed on December 21 with four other YPG fighters.
He had initially told his parents that he was holidaying in Turkey before illegally entering Syria to fight with the Kurdish separatist militia.
In a statement seen by the Guardian newspaper, Lock’s father, Jon, said: “Ryan was a very caring and loving boy who would do anything to help anyone. He had a heart of gold. We ask for privacy to allow our family to grieve.”
The YPG said in a letter: “Ryan joined actively in our offensive against the terror threat that ISIS caused upon Rojava, Kurdistan.” Rojava is the unrecognized term for what the Kurd’s perceive to be southern Kurdistan in the ethnically diverse northern Syria area.
“Here, on the dark hours of 21 December 2016, we lost our brave companion Ryan and four other fighters in Jaeber village,” the YPG letter continued.
The militia said that Lock’s “experience and knowledge” had served as “an example for younger fighters.”
“While he has reached a vast amount of achievement up in our frontlines, Ryan has served the purpose of a very important bridge between us, the Kurds of Rojava. He crossed continents for the destiny of our people and humanity,” the letter said.
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