The PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch YPG's continued presence in Syria is because it has the backing of the Bashar Assad regime and Iran, according to a Syrian Kurdish opposition figure.
This arrangement aims to "prevent Kurds from taking part in the Syrian revolution and defending their rights," Kava Azizi, the representative of the Kurdish National Council (ENKS) in northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), told Anadolu Agency (AA).
The United States is also working with the terrorist group "for its own interests," he said.
The YPG "does what they (U.S.) need" and Washington "gives weapons" in return, he added.
The terrorist group does nothing for the Kurds and has no interest in solving our problems, he explained.
"Kurds and their issues are nowhere on their agenda. This is simply an armed organization with a Marxist ideology," he said, adding that the terrorist group's sole aim is to "attack oppressed people" to forcibly recruit "fresh blood."
He said the terrorist group is "not only involved in extortion and kidnappings for ransom in Syria, but also sells oil and buys agricultural products from people at very low prices."
It also engages in extortion and ransoms money from people going to Syria from Europe and northern Iraq, he added.
This terrorist group "cannot solve the problems of Kurds anywhere, not just in Syria," Azizi reiterated.
Currently, it is "fighting for the destruction of the (Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government) KRG," he added.
He said the YPG/PKK has silenced the public and journalists as it does not want the world to hear the plight of the Kurds.
"This so-called organization (YPG/PKK) holds no legitimacy for us, just as it does not see us as a legitimate force," he said.
"They treat us completely arbitrarily and abide by no laws," he added.
He said the EKNS did not seek the YPG/PKK's permission before setting up offices in Syrian areas controlled by the terrorist group.
"We were aware of the risks. Our offices have been set on fire many times. They have also abducted several of our members, and their whereabouts are still unknown," Azizi said.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara.
The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Türkiye 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 Türkiye 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, Türkiye conducted its own counterterrorism operations, over the course of which it has managed to remove a significant number of terrorists from the region.
Furthermore, local people living in areas held by the YPG have also long suffered from its atrocities, as the terrorist group has a notorious record of human rights abuses including 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 through what they call "compulsory conscription."