Abdulghani Halil al-Handaq, a surrendered member of the PKK-affiliated People’s Protection Units (YPG), called on members of the terrorist organization to lay down their arms, stressing that the YPG has been intentionally sending ethnic Arabs to the front lines.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), al-Handaq exposed forcible recruitment of locals and mistreatment of Arabs within the organization. “I was a truck driver and fled from them for two years to evade forced conscription, but I was captured in the beginning of 2019 and brought to a camp in the western outskirts of Ayn al-Arab,” he said.
Stressing that he received military training in northeastern Hasakah province, al-Handaq said the trainers repeatedly claimed that the YPG planned to establish a state and then attack Turkey.
In order to prevent the establishment of a possible statelet by the YPG in northern Syria and to eradicate the Daesh threat, Turkey carried out two military operations in the region; Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and Operation Olive Branch in 2018. A third offensive, Operation Peace Spring, was launched on Oct. 9.
“Arabs are mostly forcibly recruited and sent to the frontlines, while they were waiting behind. They discriminated against us,” he revealed.
Local people living in areas held by the group have long suffered from YPG atrocities since the terrorist organization has a lengthy record of human rights abuses, ranging from kidnapping, recruiting child soldiers, torture, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement in Syria.
Noting that he couldn’t escape before Operation Peace Spring due to fear for his family’s safety, al-Handaq said he contacted the Syrian National Army (SNA) 10 days ago and finally escaped in the Ayn Issa region.
“If I had fled [before the operation], they would displace my family and detain my cousins. That’s why I had to stay with them during that time. I am calling on all forcibly recruited members: lay down your arms and return to your homes. This is the advice of a brother,” he said.
Abdurrahman Mustafa, head of the Syrian Interim Government, said Wednesday that those forcibly recruited into the YPG and those who have not committed any crimes on behalf of the terror group will be granted amnesty. "We call upon every component of the Syrian nation to stand shoulder to shoulder and set out on a new path toward a bright future full of peace, honor and freedom," he said.
Meanwhile, the National Defense Ministry has announced that three PKK terrorists had surrendered in the district of Silopi in southeastern Şırnak province.