The PKK terrorist group's Syrian wing YPG is using a sophisticated network of tunnels in the Tal Rifaat district in northern Syria to hide and transfer weapons to the front lines.
YPG terrorists continue to hide in Tal Rifaat, a mere 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the Turkish border, with a front line to the Operation Euphrates Shield zone, where Turkish security forces have been providing security since 2016-2017.
Footage shot by Anadolu Agency (AA) shows at least 30 kilometers of tunnels.
The tunnels lead to several settlement areas and the front line.
Some tunnels are hidden underneath concrete barriers and sand. The tunnels are 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) wide and 2 to 2.2 meters high.
After spotting an AA drone taking footage, a terrorist tried to shoot it down.
An investigation by an AA team on the ground also showed that a tunnel opens to an old teachers training institution, signifying civilian infrastructure is being used by the terrorists.
In Turkey's previous cross-border operations, tunnels were discovered which led to houses, schools, hospitals and places of worship that were built by terrorists to use civilians as human shields.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said earlier this month that Turkey would launch new military operations in Syria to extend the 30-kilometer (20-mile) deep "safe zones" along the border, aiming at the Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions and other areas further east.
"We are taking another step in establishing a 30-kilometer security zone along our southern border. We will clean up Tal Rifaat and Manbij," he said, adding that the planned military operations will gradually continue in other parts of northern Syria.
Erdoğan has said that since the United States and Russia have failed to live up to their commitments to provide a safe zone along the border region, Turkey is ready to mount an operation to protect the nation and locals in northern Syria from the PKK/YPG terrorist threat.
In October 2019, Russia committed to removing the terrorist group from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Turkey during Operation Peace Spring. Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be pulled back 30 kilometers from the border on the M4 highway and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring zone. Likewise, U.S. then-Vice President Mike Pence pledged to Turkey that the YPG/PKK terrorist group would withdraw from the Operation Peace Spring region. But neither Moscow nor Washington kept their promises.
Turkey's possible military operation targeting northern Syria has three main goals: to fight the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian branch YPG that threatens the security of the country on the border, to prevent a terror state that may emerge under the control of the YPG and finally to take a step that will facilitate the return of Syrians.
The YPG/PKK mostly carries out terrorist attacks in Manbij, Ain al-Arab and the Tal Rifaat district of Aleppo, even using these regions as bases for its attacks. The YPG, which occupies roughly a third of Syria’s territory with the support of the United States, frequently targets Azaz, Marea, al-Bab, Jarablus, Afrin, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain in the north of the country with heavy weapons.
Turkish-backed operations in previous years have ousted the YPG/PKK from the northwestern enclave of Afrin and a series of border towns further east. Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
The YPG has controlled much of northeastern Syria since the forces of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad withdrew in 2012. Assad's forces have recovered most of Syria but some areas remain outside his control. Turkish forces are deployed in much of the north and northwest, the last opposition stronghold, and U.S. forces are stationed in the YPG-controlled east and northeast.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Turkey and the European Union, and Washington’s support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria to fight the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG’s presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.’ support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.
While acknowledging Turkey’s security concerns, Washington has voiced concerns about Ankara’s plans, saying a new operation could undermine regional stability and put American forces at risk. Russia also said last week it hoped Turkey "refrains from actions which could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already difficult situation in Syria."