Türkiye expects friendly and allied countries to stop aiding the PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG and give sincere support to Türkiye’s fight against terrorism, a National Defense Ministry official told reporters at a briefing in the capital Ankara on Thursday, a week after the U.S. military held a joint armed exercise with YPG members in northeastern Syria.
“The United States continues to support the YPG under the pretext of fighting Daesh, another terrorist group ... but a terrorist organization cannot be fought by using another terrorist organization. In other words, the fight against terrorism cannot be done with terrorists," the Turkish Defense Ministry sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said.
The exercises with dozens of PKK/YPG terrorists were held on Aug. 15-17 in the Qamishli region of Hassakeh province, local sources said last week. Anti-aircraft weapons, U.S.-made Bradley armored combat vehicles and heavy weapons were used in the drill. The terrorists deployed from helicopters used anti-tank missiles on fixed and mobile targets, and sniper rifles with thermal scopes.
Earlier this week, U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla visited the al-Hol and al-Roj camps hosting displaced people in Syria, where the YPG/PKK terrorist group holds the families of Daesh terrorists. Kurilla emphasized cooperation with the YPG and met with the group’s ringleaders, as well.
The U.S. Army frequently provides military training and supplies to members of the PKK/YPG in bases located in the Mount Abdulaziz region of Hassakeh as well as in the eastern al-Omar oil field and Conoco area of Deir el-Zour province, all regions occupied by the terrorists, which Washington calls its “partner forces.” Earlier, it deployed more reinforcements to U.S. bases in the region as a convoy of nearly 50 trucks, tankers and armored trucks delivered fuel, weapons and ammunition to the U.S. forces stationed at Koniko natural gas field and al-Omer oil field.
The PKK has been waging a bloody terror campaign against Türkiye since the 1980s, and it’s considered a terrorist group by Ankara, the U.S. and the European Union. Its terrorists have established safe havens in northern Iraq and Syria and frequently launch attacks on Turkish soil and local areas. They have been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Despite Ankara’s documentation of the fact that the YPG and PKK are, in actuality, the same terrorist group, consistent U.S. support for the terrorists remains a source of significant strain between the allies. Turkish officials say using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.
On illegal crossings into Türkiye, the ministry official said thanks to additional effective measures, 5,282 people, including 380 terrorists, who tried to illegally cross Türkiye's borders, have been caught since Jan. 1.
Around 141,400 people were stopped before they crossed the border.
Türkiye, which already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any other country in the world, has been a key transit point for irregular migrants who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
The country is taking new measures like building a concrete wall and advanced surveillance systems at its borders to prevent a fresh influx of irregular migrants, which is a main concern as conflicts in its immediate regions and economic conditions have in recent years aggravated the situation.
Last year, a total of 124,441 irregular migrants were deported and some 58,758 Syrians made voluntary returns to the safe zones in northern Syria, the Interior Ministry announced earlier.
The ministry official further addressed the recent tension in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) with the United Nations forces over the construction of a road.
Assuring that the Turkish Armed Forces continues to protect the rights and interests of Türkiye and the TRNC in the Aegean and Mediterranean, the official said Ankara is in favor of solving all problems through peaceful methods, in accordance with international law, good neighborly relations and the spirit of alliance, through mutual respect and dialogue
The official strongly condemned the "unacceptable intervention and unilateral attitude" by the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in intervening with the construction of the Pile-Yiğitler road in the territory of the TRNC last week.
It contradicts the impartiality of the peacekeeping force and fuels the deadlock, he added.
"We emphasize once again that, as the guarantor state, we stand by our Cypriot brothers and sisters within the framework of international agreements and legitimate rights stemming from international law," he stressed.
The construction of the Pile-Yiğitler road is a humanitarian project aiming to facilitate the direct access of TRNC citizens in the village of Pile to their own homeland.
The Greek Cypriot administration and the U.N. are opposed to the project.
Residents of Pile will be able to travel shorter distances and will not have to pass through British bases when crossing to the Turkish side when the 11.6-kilometer (7.2-mile) construction and repair work ends.
The first 7.5 kilometers of the road will pass through Yiğitler, and the second 4.1 kilometers will pass through Pile.
The National Defense Ministry sources said that the U.N. did not object to the road work carried out by the Greek Cypriots in the same region in 2004, but they intervened in the Pile-Yiğitler road, which has been wanted to be built since 2001.
"The U.N. Peacekeeping Force's intervention on the Pile-Yiğitler road, despite saying nothing to the road constructed by the Greek Cypriots, is against the U.N.'s principle of neutrality.
"We strongly condemn this. The TRNC will decide whether the construction of the road will continue or not," the sources added.
