Syrian Turkmens to unite under single flag

By Tevfik Durul

ANKARA (AA) - Syrian Turkmens have decided to unite under a single flag following a congress held in the region's North, an official said Thursday.

"Our greatest power for the future will be our unity. Now we have a flag. This flag will represent and unite us," Syrian Turkmen Parliament Speaker Muhammed Vecih Cuma told Anadolu Agency.

Cuma said that life has returned to normalcy in areas cleared of terrorists with Turkish support.

He added that the civil society had strengthened and they had recently held a congress to decide upon a flag in Cobanbey -- also known as Al-Rai -- in northwestern Syria.

Some 250 representatives from Aleppo, Idlib, Bayirbucak, Raqqa, Hama, Homs, Tartus, Daraa, Golan and Damascus attended the congress.

Also Turkmen army commanders and civil society representatives attended the meeting.

"We fulfilled our people's wishes and accepted this mutual flag," Cuma said.

The tri-colored flag has blue for Turkic roots, red for martyrs' blood, white for humane values, and crescent and star for Islam.

Turkmens are a Turkic ethnic group based largely in Syria and Iraq, where they live alongside large Arab and Kurdish populations. The Turkmen community, which includes Sunni and Shia Muslims, shares close cultural ties with Turkey.

Syrian Turkmens are Syrian citizens, who have Turkish roots and are living alongside Syria's Turkish border in country's northwestern town and villages.