Despite assurances by the United States and Russia, the PKK terrorist organization’s Syrian wing, the YPG, still threatens safe zones in northern Syria near Turkey’s border.
The terrorist group, which has its base in Aleppo's Tal Rifaat district, remains a threat to northern Syria's safe zones Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Besides that, for the past six years, YPG terrorists have occupied Tal Rifaat, which is located 18 kilometers (about 11 miles) from the Turkish border.
Since 2016, the YPG has killed hundreds of civilians, mainly by targeting hospitals, schools, and crowded civilian settlements in its attacks.
Meanwhile, the YPG terrorists often target Turkish security forces providing security in the areas of Operation Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch and try to infiltrate positions of Syrian opposition fighters from Tal Rifaat that the terror group was supposed to withdraw from the areas under agreements with the U.S. and Russia.
Terrorists are also using heavy weapons in their attacks in the Tal Rifaat district and villages, including Sheikh Issa, Ayn Daqnah, Kafr Khasher, Taanah, and Menagh.
The YPG terrorism caused the displacement of approximately 250,000 civilians in Tal Rifaat in 2016, forcing them to seek refuge in areas close to the Turkish border.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018, and Peace Spring in 2019.
On the other side, two Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Syria where the army launched a military operation to clear the area of terror elements, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
According to the ministry, the two soldiers succumbed to their injuries in hospital after terrorists opened fire in the Operation Euphrates Shield zone on Tuesday.
In a separate statement, the ministry said 25 PKK/YPG terrorists were eliminated by the Turkish forces in Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Peace Spring zones.
The latest attack comes as Ankara increasingly warns of the terrorist threat on its southern border.
Turkey, which has mounted four operations in northern Syria since 2016, has vowed a new operation against YPG terrorists that control swathes of territory near the Turkish border. Among the potential targets are Manbij and Tal Rifaat.
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."
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Wednesday criticized the U.S. for wishing condolences to the Turkish soldiers that lost their lives in Syria, reminding that Washington had similarly wished condolences for YPG terrorists recently.
‘U.S.' insincerity’
Saying that the U.S.’ attitude was not sincere, Soylu said: "The condolences by U.S. official authorities, who lamented PKK leaders, toward our heroes that lost their lives, is an insidious attempt to equate our soldiers with a terrorist organization."
Soylu’s words came after the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) last week praised a terrorist from the YPG.
CENTCOM shared on Twitter that Salwa Yusuk, also known as Ciyan Afrin, was killed along with two other female terrorists in an attack near Qamishli, Syria, on July 22, 2022.
Praising the killed terrorist for her alleged contribution to the fight against Daesh terrorists, CENTCOM also extended condolences to the families of the deceased.
The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria to fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG's presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.' support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Turkey conducted its own counterterrorism operations, over the course of which it has managed to remove a significant number of terrorists from the region.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Wednesday also touched on the attitude of the U.S. on counterterrorism efforts and said it is unacceptable that the CENTCOM wished YPG terrorist condolences and added that "It is an indication of the insincerity of the U.S. in the fight against terrorism. Terrorist is terrorist."
Çavuşoğlu also underlined that the U.S. and Russia failed to keep their promises against terrorist organizations in Syria, saying they are not sincere in their fight against terrorism.
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.