Britons fighting with YPG terror group panic amid clashes in northern Syria

Several U.K. citizens fighting on the frontlines for the PKK-affiliated Democratic Union Party's (PYD) armed wing, People's Protection Units (YPG), are reportedly in panic amid recent operations launched by the Ankara-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) against DAESH terrorists in the Syrian towns of Jarablus and Manbij.

A British fighter using the code name Macer Gifford and fighting under the International Freedom Battalion (IFB) banner, reportedly said he hoped the U.K. government took the "threats" seriously, referring to Operation Euphrates Shield launched by Ankara in the northern city of Jarablus in Syria to support the FSA against DAESH. "This is what's so frustrating at the moment – Turkey has militarily intervened and it's causing a huge amount of problems for foreign volunteers because it's a NATO member," he was cited by the Middle East Eye as saying. "Me, personally, I wouldn't be able to fight against Turkey whatsoever because it risks me being labelled a 'terrorist' and ending up in a jail cell," he added.

According to the U.K.'s daily Telegraph, there are at least six British nationals fighting for the YPG, which Ankara considers as a terrorist group.

Speaking to the Middle East Eye regarding the presence of foreign nationals fighting among the YPG terror group, Yunus Akbaba, an adviser to Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, said: "Turkey does not differentiate on the basis of nationality when it comes to membership in terrorist groups." "It is the responsibility of the countries from where they come to prevent them joining these groups," he said, adding: "In the heat of battle, we are not going to stop and ask the terrorists what their nationality is."

Unofficial reports claim that there are more than 100 foreign nationals fighting with the YPG, including American, Canadian, German, French and Swedish citizens.