Locals living in areas where the terrorist PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG dug tunnels have been complaining about them as they fear the tunnels threaten the destruction of their homes.
The people living in Qamishli across Turkey’s southern Mardin province fear for their lives, as the wide tunnels pose a threat to the foundation of buildings housing residents, according to field correspondents.
The terrorists have put up tents to cover the tunnels, in order to prevent drones from capturing them.
Residents also struggle to safely walk on streets riddled with tunnels and criticize the Assad regime, which controls Qamishli, for failing to take action against the YPG.
The YPG has also been digging tunnels in al-Darbasiyah, al-Malikiyah and Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani, a tactic it copied from the Daesh terrorist group, to infiltrate Turkey and launch terrorist attacks.
Entrances to the tunnel network are located only 2 kilometers (around 1.25 miles) from the Turkish border.
The construction of the tunnel network has caused significant damage to the region’s infrastructure.
The terrorists dig temporary living spaces equipped with electricity and water in order to resist Turkish military operations, Anadolu Agency (AA) said.
During Operation Peace Spring, Turkish military forces had found various tunnels in Ras al-Ain and the entrances were destroyed by airstrikes and artillery attacks.
Turkey has aimed to prevent the YPG from establishing a de facto autonomous region in northern Syria, which would border Turkey and connect the so-called northwestern Afrin "canton" to the so-called Kobani (Ain al-Arab) and Jazeera "cantons" in the northeast. Ankara describes this as a "terror corridor" posing a grave security threat to its national security, underlining its possible impact on the PKK’s activity within Turkish borders.
Local people living in areas held by the YPG have long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist group has a notorious record of human rights abuses in Syria, ranging from kidnappings, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.