Free Syrian Army (FSA) divisions continue preparations for a military offensive on Tal Rifaat to clear the PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG) from the region, following demonstrations of exiled residents of Tal Rifaat demanding the Turkish military liberate the town from the terrorists.
Fehim Isa, commander of Sultan Murad Brigade, a sub-group fighting under the FSA umbrella, said that the brigade is ready with 10,000 men for an operation on Tal Rifaat, which has been held by the YPG since February 2016.
"The YPG and the [Bashar] Assad regime don't let people return to their homes. Yesterday, they opened fire on a 200-vehicle convoy to prevent their return to the town," Isa said.
Turkish media reported on Sunday that Operation Olive Branch forces launched military drills after the liberation of Afrin. Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish fighters in the FSA vowed to fight until Syria was completely cleared of YPG terrorists.
The FSA forces also want to capture Mennagh Air Base, which holds strategic importance to provide security to liberated areas in northern Syria. It would also cut off the Nubl and Zahraa districts of Aleppo, which have become a base for Iranian-backed militias.
Muhammed Shibil, a field commander of the FSA's Hamza Division, which includes a Kurdish Hawks Brigade, said that their aim is to clear YPG elements from northern Syria up to the Iraqi border. "No matter who we encounter, we will eliminate the PKK from these lands," he said. The commander also criticized the U.S. for its broken promises on removing the YPG from the region.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday signaled a military operation to liberate Tal Rifaat. "We will clear Tal Rifaat from YPG and PKK terrorists to complete Operation Olive Branch," he said at a gathering of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The statement came after the gathering of exiled residents of Tal Rifaat and numerous FSA fighters in Azaz in northwestern Syria to protest, asking Turkey to help liberate their area in the ongoing Operation Olive Branch and prevent the city from being handed to the regime.
