The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization has begun its preparations against Turkey’s possible operation in Afrin, digging a giant tunnel running from Mount Barsa in northern Azaz to Afrin. Reports say that many senior terrorists were sent from Qandil to Afrin, where 8,000 terrorists are already located, and terrorists have started setting up traps in the city.
The Afrin operation is of strategic importance for Turkey’s security and perpetuity. The operation is being delayed due to Iran’s ongoing demands in spite of Russia’s promises. PKK’s Syrian offshoot the Democratic Union Party (PYD) terrorists are incessantly preparing for Turkey’s possible operation in Afrin, which will be “saved” as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated.
“We will also clear Manbij and deliver it to its rightful owners. We will save Afrin. We will eliminate all terror threats to Turkey in Iraq’s Qandil,” said the Turkish president in a speech on Saturday.
A Turkmen authority from Afrin spoke exclusively to Yeni Şafak regarding the Qandil-backed preparations being made against Turkey.
According to the Turkmen source, the PKK terrorist organization has recently put great pressure on Turkmens living in Afrin. Turkmens are being interrogated for days, where the terrorist organization tries to obtain information about the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and its commanders. There are still around 7,000 - 8,000 PYD terrorists in Afrin, which is headed by so-called key figure of the YPG, Mustafa Çilo. PKK/PYD terrorists are carrying out preparations in Afrin as they have perceived that Turkey will launch an operation in the city sooner or later. The PYD has recently transported weapons provided by the United States to the checkpoint area where Turkish troops are deployed.
The PYD/YPG has a training camp in Mount Barsa located in northern Azaz. The terrorist organization started construction of a tunnel running from Mount Barsa to Afrin 2013 and was completed last year. The tunnel is wide enough for a car to pass through. Mount Barsa is known as the PKK/PYD’s Qandil in Syria, a hotbed for the terrorists. It is predicted that terrorists will turn the mountain into a terror camp, similar to Qandil, unless the area is cleared of their presence.
PYD terrorists launched military training for all young men and women in Afrin, in panic of a Turkey-backed FSA fighters’ joint operation with Russia. Many senior terrorists were sent from Qandil to Afrin to manage terrorist attacks against Turkey’s Afrin operation. The PYD also started setting traps in the city, similar to the Daesh terrorist organization’s trapping in the Euphrates Shield Operation. An effective air supported operation is necessary in the region, reports say.
The PYD still controls the routes in the region, where hundreds of trucks pass every day, and receives $2,000 of payment per truck. The terrorist organization also established an unofficial state in Afrin, which has its so-called ministries, hospitals, customs offices and local authorities. The YPG held an illegitimate referendum for an “autonomous federation” on Sept. 22 and then municipal elections in Afrin.
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.
