An attack by the PKK terrorist organization’s Syrian wing, the YPG, injured at least three civilians in northwestern Syria’s Afrin province on Saturday.
The attack targeted the town of Terende in the Afrin district by terrorists based in the city of Tal Rifaat, local sources were quoted to have said by Anadolu Agency (AA).
The injured civilians were rushed to hospitals for medical attention.
The YPG often mounts attacks on Jarablus, Afrin and Azaz from Syria's Manbij and Tal Rifaat areas.
Afrin was largely cleared of YPG terrorists in 2018 through Türkiye’s counterterrorism offensive Operation Olive Branch and was set on a path toward normalization with the restoration of several hospitals, schools and other vital facilities.
Despite all these positive developments, the YPG continues to target residential areas and civilians in Afrin by using Tal Rifaat, located in southeast Afrin, as a base. Local people living in areas held by the YPG have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist organization has a notorious record of human rights abuses, ranging from kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement in Syria. The YPG has forced young people from areas under its control to join its forces within the so-called "compulsory conscription in the duty of self-defense."
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Since 2016, Türkiye has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and to enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
