Syrian Turkmens slam fake YPG Turkmen group


The Syrian Turkmen Assembly (STA) Monday denied any links to the fake "Turkmen Foundation", named "Turkmen Foundation" which it says was created as part of a smear campaign carried out by the PKK-affiliated People's Protection Units (YPG).

"The fraudulent foundation the YPG founded in Manbij [a city in northern Syria] has nothing to do with us. It's a treacherous attempt and a part of their dirty game," STA leader Mohamed Wajih Joma told Anadolu Agency (AA).

"They want the people and the media to buy this. But they can't be successful because people hate them," Joma said.

He claimed that the YPG posted a video using the so-called Turkmen foundation's social media, but the footage did not belong to Turkmens, but to terrorists in Qandil, northern Iraq, where the PKK is based.

"The Western media that believe the YPG, are doing these to engineer a perception in the U.S. and in other supporters of the organization. But these things are certainly no longer valid for Manbij," Joma said.

"People now know who they [YPG] are and what their true faces are like. People there want to get rid of them as soon as possible. I want it too. I want to return home as soon as possible," he added.

Joma added that the YPG was racketeering and driving people out of their homes in Manbij.

"At this moment, masked PKK terrorists are sitting in my house, my father's house, and my brother's house. These masked terrorists speak neither Turkish nor Arabic," he added.

"The situation in Manbij isn't good at all. People are in a very bad condition. But at the same time, people have hope. They are waiting for the Turkish and Free Syrian Army [FSA] forces.

"After seeing [the liberation of] Jarablus, Azaz, al-Bab and Afrin, people say they want to manage their own territories," he added.

On Friday, YPG terrorists reportedly captured 200 residential and commercial properties in Manbij, owned by Turkish-backed FSA members and their families.

The terrorist organization has also increased the number of checkpoints across Manbij, with one in almost every street.

The PKK-affiliated YPG seized Manbij in August 2016 from Daesh with support from the U.S. military, straining ties between Ankara and Washington.