People fed up with the terrorist PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG in the Jarablus, Azaz, Afrin, al-Bab and Tal Abyad districts held protests against the terrorist group’s planned so-called local elections.
The people in the districts took to the streets carrying banners against the PKK/YPG: “We will not accept terrorists exploit Syria to threaten neighboring countries,” “PKK’s plans to divide Syria will not succeed,” “Racist terrorist group cannot hold elections,” and more.
Protestor Musa al-Sarmudi told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he joined the protests to oppose the terrorist group’s so-called elections. He noted that the election plan violates Resolution 2254 of the U.N. Security Council.
“We are against division. We want a unified Syria,” al-Sarmudi said, adding that the PKK/YPG terrorists occupied their village.
“Around 350 families and 4,000 civilians were displaced from their villages in Tal Abyad and were relocated to Türkiye and liberated areas,” he said, adding that they do not recognize the terrorist group or their so-called elections. The frustrated man continued by calling on the international community to implement the UNSC resolution and urged the Syrian National Army (SNA) to mobilize against the terrorists.
Another resident, Abu Jafar Sultan, told AA that he had to migrate to Tal Abyad from the Tabqa district in Raqqa province.
“The terrorist group threatens to starve the people and cut their electricity,” Sultan said, adding that the elections do not represent Syrians. Noting that they are stuck in a small area without any oil or water because of the PKK/YPG, Sultan said they were forcefully displaced and anybody who opposes them is arrested and dies in their prisons.
Others also expressed frustration with the terrorists, saying that they pose a threat to Syria’s territorial integrity as they highlighted that Syrian people are united as Arabs, Turkmen, and Kurdish people.
PKK, which always promoted itself as a “political party,” accentuates it recently in a bid to cultivate international support. The United States has already thrown its full support to the group’s Syrian wing under the guise of cooperation against another terrorist group, Daesh.
Its plan to organize elections is viewed as null and void in Syria, which has been mired in a civil war since 2011. A U.N. resolution adopted in 2015 by the U.N. Security Council, which the U.S. is also a party to, calls for a cease-fire and political settlement in the war-torn country and highlights that the only sustainable solution to the crisis in Syria is an inclusive and Syrian-led political process. It calls for commitment to Syria’s unity and territorial integrity.
The terrorist group conveniently contravened the resolution and launched a “local election” process in northeastern Syria. It initially set the date as May 30 before postponing it to June 11. So-called elections are planned in regions and towns, including Jazeera, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij and Afrin, where YPG has strongholds. Turkish sources say PKK aims to achieve an “autonomous” status first in Syria before moving to the next stage of its plan: an independent state.
