YPG/PKK use force to keep Syrian civilians in Afrin​

By Levent Tok, Mohamad Misto and Selen Temizer

AFRIN, Syria / ANKARA (AA) - Amid rapid advances by Turkish and Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces against terrorists in Afrin, northwestern Syria, YPG/PKK terrorists have been forcibly blocking Syrian civilians from leaving the area.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria, near Turkey’s southern border.

According to information Anadolu Agency gathered from reliable sources in Afrin, the terrorists used force to stop Afrin’s Syrian residents from leaving the district, even to the point of using gunfire.

The civilians, seeking to go south to avoid being used as human shields, were stopped from leaving the city center by YPG/PKK terrorists at checkpoints.

The civilians have been trying to reach Nubul, a town in Aleppo under the control of the Assad regime and Iranian-backed forces.

Checkpoints in southern Afrin sought additional support from terrorist headquarters to put more pressure on civilians, in a sign the terror group feared losing control in the district center.

-Turkish army drone films YPG/PKK attack on civilians

Footage captured by a Turkish army drone shows a convoy of civilian vehicles at a YPG/PKK checkpoint seeking to leave Afrin.

The terrorists can be seen opening fire on the civilians to block them.

After dispersing, the civilians then regrouped as the terrorists were reinforced with a white minibus.

Blocking the road with the minibus, the armed terrorists got out of the vehicle and confronted the civilians.

Taking advantage of the commotion, a civilian tried to slip past the barricade, but was seen and blocked.

The drone footage also captured a woman with a baby in her arms and a child next to her.

Despite her efforts to persuade the terrorists to let them leave Afrin, she too failed.

-YPG/PKK allows civilians to join fight against Turkey’s operation

On the other hand, YPG/PKK terrorists allowed some civilians to leave the district center after bribing them with around $1,000 per person on condition that they head towards areas within the range of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and FSA's advance.

Some vehicles carrying those civilians moved towards Tell Rifaat and south of Afrin from the district center.

Planning to slow down the Turkish-led operation in Afrin via civilians, the terrorists are still blocking them from leaving the district as a whole.

According to information Anadolu Agency gathered from local sources in Hasakah, the YPG/PKK terror group is seeking new recruits in the Hasakah and Kamishli districts, invaded by the YPG/PKK in northeastern Syria, to make them fight against the Turkish Armed Forces and FSA in Afrin.

The terror group promises a $400 salary for those it wants to send to Afrin.

Having difficulty recruiting people, the YPG/PKK tries to persuade those already working with the title of civil servant for nearly $150 per month by pledging $400 more.

Using such tactics, on Sunday the group sent nearly 100 people from Hasakah to Afrin.

-Terrorists in civilian disguise

A while after Operation Olive Branch started in Afrin, the group directed outlying populations to go to the Afrin city center to use them as human shields.

Moreover, the YPG/PKK also told its members to dress in civilian clothing.

Camouflaging the armed elements, the group is expected to have them fight in residential areas or move them from Afrin’s center to areas under the control of Bashar al-Assad, later moving to Manbij and west of the Euphrates River.

-Ringleaders leave Afrin

The sources also confirmed that the ringleaders and members of the terror group coming to Afrin from Mt. Qandil -- the terrorist PKK’s headquarters -- left the district via Nubul.

Thus, Qandil-rooted terror members escaped from Afrin in case the Turkish army and FSA blocked the road to Aleppo when they go towards eastern Afrin as part of the ongoing operation.

The Assad regime earns almost $1,000 per terrorist when it permits the terror group to cross the Euphrates River to the Afrin side.

Meanwhile, the group also announces over loudspeakers in central Afrin: “Turkey lies. Don’t be afraid. Kafr Jana and Qatmah are ours. We didn’t leave them, we won’t.”

The YPG/PKK deployed a group of Afrin-based members in Um Hush and Tel Rifaat for a hit-and-run strike when it believed the Turkish military and FSA would capture the district center as part of the ongoing Afrin operation.

On Saturday, Said Ismet Gubar, who serves as so-called justice minister in the district occupied by the YPG/PKK terror group, fled Afrin, while Hasan Bayram, its so-called interior minister, failed to escape when caught by group members.

According to the Turkish General Staff, Operation Olive Branch aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.

The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and that "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.