Armoured vehicles of Turkish Armed Forces patrolling in the northern Syrian city of Manbij on June 22, 2018. Turkish Armed Forces on Friday completed their third round of patrolling in the northern Syrian city of Manbij as part of a deal with the U.S. to rid the area of the YPG/PKK terror group.
Displaced people from Manbij now staying at refugee camps in northern Aleppo have voiced their support for the entry of Turkish forces into their city with a view to ensuring peace and security.
In a statement released by Manbij’s Albo-Shaaban tribe, tribal spokesmen called on the Turkish army to “drive the PYD/PKK terrorist gangs from Manbij and end the group’s tyrannical practices against civilians”.
According to the tribe, local civilians have been subject to extortion, detention and torture -- which in some cases has led to death -- at the hands of the terrorist group.
“The people of Manbij are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Turkish army [to the city],” read the statement, released late Sunday night.
“We call on the city’s Arab, Kurdish, Circassian and Turkmen residents to rest assured that their lives and property are safe,” tribal spokesman Mansour Abdel-Aal said.
Turkey and the United States reach an agreement on Manbij in Syria. It focuses on the withdrawal of PKK-linked YPG from the city, and empowering local government.
Turkey and United States agree on Manbij roadmap
A deal struck last month by Turkey and the U.S. calls for the withdrawal of the PKK-affiliated YPG terrorist group from Manbij with a view to ensuring the region’s stability.
Terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have kidnapped 17 families who were visiting their relatives for Eid, one of the most important holidays in the Muslim calendar, in Syria’s Tal Abyad, Manbij and Raqqa regions, according to reports.The reason behind the abduction of civilians is their admiration for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and having photos of him on their mobile phones.Speaking to Yeni Safak daily, 25-year-old Rima said that her mother and two siblings were detained while travelling to visit her uncle, and added that “PKK terrorists, after checking their phones, had seen that they liked Erdogan’s photos on social media. They are not allowing them to leave Manbij. We are worried about them.”Assad regime kidnaps three civiliansPro-Assad Shabbiha forces also kidnapped three civilians visiting their families for the Eid feast in Aleppo, including a female lawyer, accusing them of supporting Erdogan on social media platforms. Families of the victims who spoke to Yeni Şafak said, “They went to Aleppo to visit relatives but were detained with the charges of supporting Erdogan and are being interrogated and tortured in a center belonging to the Mukhabarat Jawiyyeh [Syrian air force intelligence services].”Turkish airstrikes in north Iraq kill four PKK terroristsPKK and Shabbiha forces extract heavy tolls Abu Naim, who has visited his family in Aleppo on holidays for the last two years, said that they paid PKK terrorists a great deal of money for their travels from Azaz to Aleppo. “Last year, we were travelling using the Afrin route; this year we changed it to Manbij,” he added. “At a check point established in the Ta'ana district, they detained my nephew when seeing Erdogan’s photos on his phone. Along the route, security is provided by the looting Shabbiha forces and PKK terrorists.“We haven’t had any news from my 17-year-old nephew who was detained on the way back. Officials in Aleppo say they have no such a prisoner.”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.
PKK terrorists kidnap 17 Syrian families over Erdoğan picture
The PKK’s 30-year terror campaign against Turkey has claimed some 40,000 lives, including those of women and children. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian affiliate.
Should the Manbij model prove successful, Ankara will push for a similar arrangement in eastern Syria.
Turkey views the terrorist groups operating near its southern border as a clear and present threat and has launched two major military operations with the stated aim of eliminating them.