The recent clashes between the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG, and Arab tribes in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour are a consequence of the support some countries have given to the terrorist organization, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.
“Since the beginning, we have explained how wrong it is to help and support the PKK/YPG under the pretext of fighting another terrorist group, Daesh. These developments clearly indicate how right we were,” the Defense Ministry’s press representative, Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, told reporters in the capital Ankara.
“The PKK/YPG and its affiliates not only threaten our country but also mankind and the local people,” he said.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the PKK/YPG despite its NATO ally Türkiye’s security concerns. While underlining that a country cannot support one terrorist group to fight another, Türkiye has conducted its own counterterrorism operations, throughout which it has managed to remove many terrorists from the region.
The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU, has waged a terrorism campaign against Türkiye for more than four decades and has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women and children.
“The recent developments are a reaction of the local people by gathering to protest for their rights and territories against the order that is attempted to be enforced through the hands of the PKK/YPG there,” Aktürk underlined.
Saying that Türkiye is following the developments closely, Aktürk added that Ankara expects an end to the support given to the PKK/YPG by friendly and allied countries as well as “honest support” in the fight against terrorism.
Days of fighting in eastern Deir el-Zour, which left 90 people dead, had raised fears of broader conflict in a region where terrorists and foreign powers are present.
Fighting began in Deir el-Zour after the YPG detained Ahmad al-Khabil, head of the Deir el-Zour Military Council.
The terrorist organization is also attacking settlements in the villages of Giranic, Suveyden, al-Tayyene, Ziyben and Havayic with ground-to-ground weapons, according to local sources speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA).
Hundreds of families fleeing the attacks are seeking refuge in safer villages under the control of Arab tribes.
Since the clashes began, the Arab tribes have liberated a total of 33 villages from PKK/YPG occupation in operations in Deir el-Zour, Raqqa and Hasakah provinces, as well as the rural areas of Manbij district in Aleppo.
The entire population of Deir el-Zour comprises Arabs.
The area has been occupied by PKK/YPG terrorists under the guise of fighting Daesh and with support from the U.S. military.
The terrorist organization forcibly recruits Arab children.
By seizing the region’s oil wells and smuggling oil to the Syrian regime despite sanctions, the terrorists generate revenue for their activities.
