YPG attacks FSA-controlled Azaz province

Intense clashes erupted between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the PKK's Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG), in northern Syria's Tel Rifaat due to infiltration attempts by the YPG terrorists into FSA-controlled Azaz yesterday.

According to local sources, the YPG attacked the front lines in southern Azaz, which is located close to the Turkey's border province of Kilis. After retaliation by the FSA forces, clashes broke out and both sides used heavy weapons.

The eastern part of Syria's Afrin region is comprised of two districts: Tel Rifaat, currently occupied by the terrorist group, and Azaz, which remains under the control of Syrian opposition forces. The YPG occupied Tel Rifaat in 2016 in the hopes of linking Afrin, a city in northwestern Syria, to areas under its control east of the Euphrates River, thus establishing a zone of influence along Syria's border with Turkey.

In the last two years, Turkey's Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations liberated the region from the YPG and Daesh terrorists, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians to return to their homes.

However, a number of liberated cities, including Al-Bab, Jarabulus, Azaz and Afrin, remain subject to sporadic terrorist attacks emanating from Tel Rifaat.