Assad regime 'helps' PYD/PKK terrorist group in Afrin

By Levent Tok

ALEPPO/IDLIB (AA) - Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime forces have helped the PYD/PKK terrorists in Aleppo to send arms aid to the northwestern city of Afrin, where Turkey launched an operation on Saturday.

According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency from local reliable sources on location, the regime forces have paved the way for terrorists to use roads through the PYD-PKK-held Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to deliver the reinforcements.

With the permission of the regime, the organization began to use Nubl and Al-Zahra roads connecting the center of Aleppo to Afrin, the sources said on the condition of anonymity.

An undisclosed number PYD/PKK terrorists on vehicles loaded with ammunition have been moving towards Afrin, the sources added.

The Turkish General Staff confirmed that it launched “Operation Olive Branch” on Saturday at 5.00 p.m. (1400GMT).

The operation was carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council’s decisions and self-defense rights under the UN charter, said the military.

The statement said the operation will also take sensitivity into account and no civilian/innocent persons would be harmed.

The PYD/PKK is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist group, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

Since the mid-1980s, the PKK has waged a wide-ranging terror campaign against the Turkish state in which an estimated 40,000 people have been killed.