The U.S. is once again attempting to divert Turkey’s attention away from Afrin, for which Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies have amassed a force of 17,000 fighters, by claiming there’s no need to rush the operation as its top envoy to the anti-Daesh coalition repeatedly said during his visits to Ankara.
Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis also pointed out that a similar operation would damage the coalition’s fight against Daesh in Raqqa.
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) terrorists have sent 3,000 fighters from Afrin to take part in the Raqqa operation, under assurances from the U.S. made to the terror organization that no such operation would take place in Afrin during the battle for Raqqa.
According to estimates, there are between 5,000 to 8,000 PKK terrorists currently stationed in Afrin, which shares a 120-km border with Turkey.
PKK/PYD terrorists, along with the Assad regime, are driving Turkey and Iran towards a confrontation by utilizing all sorts of ploys, and by falsely claiming that "Turkey is waging a war against Kurds," in order to elicit backing from Europe.
The U.S. is again giving Turkey false assurances in Afrin, after it failed to keep its promise of withdrawing YPG terrorists from Manbij, claiming instead that all focus must be on the fight against Daesh.
Abu Yahya, a commander from Liwaa al-Fatih, a part of the Euphrates Shield operation, emphasized that the same ploy applied in Manbij, is again in play in Tal Rifat and Afrin, warning that "PYD terrorists are playing for time. If we don’t strike them, they will attack both Azaz and Darat Izzeh after the Raqqa operation." The opposition commander pointed out that "Most recently we were told to wait a result from Astana, but the only agreement reached at the talks was one between the U.S. and Russia which guarantees the security of Israel.”
Military sources put the number of towns and villages, across the Afrin- Tal Rifat border strip, currently under PKK occupation at 394, the residents of which were forced by PKK terrorists to flee their homes and settle in camps erected in FSA-controlled areas.
According to reports, PYD terrorists have executed over 700 civilians since seizing control over Afrin in 2012, while 500 civilians remain incarcerated in prisons across the city.
Thousands of displaced civilians protested the PYD occupation, holding up banners that read “we want our homes back” and “Turkish soldiers to Afrin.”
Ongoing clashes between FSA fighters and PYD terrorists on the Marea frontline intensified in recent days.
FSA units, under the cover provided by Turkish artillery batteries, managed to repel PYD terrorists trying to advance from Harbil toward Marea.
Clashes are still ongoing between the opposition and PYD terrorists.
In preparation for the Afrin operation, PKK terrorists have intensified their attacks against Hatay’s central districts, in addition to the Amanaos region.
Meydanki, one of five terror camps operating in Afrin, holds special importance for the PKK terror organization in the northwestern Syrian city.
Starting from 2013, German and British specialists provided military training to terrorists outside of Meydanki, in camps located in the regions of Raco and Kafar Jenneh.
PKK terrorists also used the underground Islahiye- Hatay corridor along the border to smuggle people and fighters between Afrin and Turkey.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.
