Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei
Iran will maintain its military presence in Syria after the defeat of the Daesh terrorist organization, according to an Iranian official on Sunday.
“The Zionist regime (Israel) is trying to dominate Syria after (fall of) the Daesh terrorist group, but the Resistance forces and the military advisers of the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue their presence in Syria to counter terrorism,” Senior adviser to the Iranian parliament speaker for international affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian told a meeting in Tehran with Palestinian Ambassador Salah al-Zawawi.
Residents in the northern Syrian city of Manbij have told Anadolu Agency they want Turkish troops to clear their land of YPG/PKK terrorists.The Turkish military recently completed its 10th round of patrolling in the city.Displaced by YPG/PKK terrorist group in Syria's north, people of Manbij said they long for the day to return to their homes after Turkish troops took control of the strategic district.PKK conducts series of attacks as US-Turkey deal in Manbij comes into forceSpeaking to Anadolu Agency, Um Abdullah, who fled to Turkey after the terror group invaded their lands in Manbij, said they left their homes after facing oppression by terrorists."They forcefully armed our children. This is our homeland. The so-called government is not ours," Um Abdullah said.She said Manbij will never be free as long as terrorists exist.Turkey neutralizes over 4,500 terrorists in Afrin: Army"They [the YPG/PKK] are harassing the people. They bother our children and daughters. We went to Syria from Turkey during Eid. We saw our family in Manbij but now we are returning back to Turkey."We want to freely live in Manbij and want Turkey to eliminate our homeland from terrorists," she said.Another local from Manbij Ahmed Muhammed Horan said: "Turkey has always been on our side. We were forced to flee to Turkey. We came to our lands during Eid to visit our families after a very long time.Turkey, US agree on clearing Syrian regions of PKK"We were able to see them with the help of Turkish soldiers and the Free Syrian Army. We long for Turkish army to eliminate terrorists from Manbij."Mahmoud Nour, a member of the national army linked to the Free Syrian Army, said people will be able to return to their own lands once the terrorists are eliminated from Manbij.Turkey and the U.S. have set a three-month timetable to complete tasks they agreed in a deal on Syria's Manbij, a Turkish government spokesman said in mid-June.The Manbij deal focuses on the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated YPG terror group from the northern Syrian city and stability in the region.
People of Manbij long for Turkey's intervention
“Syrians will not allow the country to once again become a safe haven for Zionist terrorists,” he added in statements carried by local media.
In recent months, Israel has carried out several air attacks on Iranian targets inside Syria that reportedly left a number of Iranian military personnel dead.
Israeli officials have repeatedly said they would not allow Iran to maintain a long-term military presence in Syria.
Iran and Hezbollah are strong allies of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime, the forces of which have been fighting opposition groups in a deadly civil war since 2011.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.