PKK is hiding behind US flags in Manbij: Syrian Turkmen Council head

Syrian Turkmen Council head Dr. Muhammed Vecih Cuma stated that the locals of Syria’s Manbij, which is currently occupied by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists, were reaching breaking point.

“Through successful diplomacy, Turkey saved the lives of people in Idlib. It is doing the same in Manbij. That is why it is showing such great patience. If there is an operation, Manbij locals will stand among the ranks of Turkish troops and the Free Syrian Army (FSA),” Cuma said in an exclusive interview with Yeni Şafak daily.

“The U.S. is trying to preoccupy Turkey with the terrorists’ trenches. The PKK is hiding behind U.S. flags in Manbij. If Americans weren’t there, and if they didn’t have arms or political support, the locals would have cleared the area of those terrorists. Turkey is showing this much patience to ensure a non-military political solution in which civilians are not harmed. That is why it is using a diplomatic path,” he added.

The U.S. has established 13 operational military bases in the YPG/PKK controlled territories including Hasakah, Raqqa, Manbij, Kobani and Tal-Abyad in Syria.

After Turkey and the U.S. agreed this June to a roadmap agreement for removal of the YPG/PKK terror organization from Manbij, the terror group has, to the contrary, stepped up its presence and activities in the area.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s spokesman İbrahim Kalın on Oct. 3 said Washington was stalling over the establishment of joint patrols with Turkey in the northern Syrian town of Manbij which the two countries agreed upon, and Ankara sees the delay as a growing problem.

“The Americans are not fulfilling the agreement they signed. There were things they had to do, and none of it has been done. On the contrary, trenches are being dug in Manbij by the terrorists. Even though promises were made that the terror group would leave Manbij, the PKK is using the same methods used in Afrin to dig trenches that are 30 kilometers long around the city,” Cuma said.

“Nothing has changed for Manbij locals. They are being oppressed. The so-called 25-year-old administrators from Qandil are running Manbij. There is no justice or democracy there, only oppression and pressure. We found out that some locals have started to rally because they are sick of the oppression. I think that in the coming days, community mobilization will increase,” he added.

Northern Iraq’s Qandil Mountains are considered as the main base of the PKK.

The terrorist group has completed the construction of trenches and embankments in areas surrounding the Manbij city center. The PKK has formed embankments at various depths in front of trenches to make up a series of lines stretching nearly 30 kilometers (18.06 miles). The YPG/PKK terrorists also built tunnels linking trenches to use during possible combat.

The PYD and its military YPG wing are Syrian branches of the PKK, which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years.

“The trenches the terror group has dug will be futile. When the operation is launched, the terrorists will lose. They are digging trenches and preparing, but really, they are hiding behind the U.S. flag. The terrorists there are in control of everything and they gain this power from the U.S.’s weapons and planes. The U.S. has given the terrorists more than 19,000 trucks worth of arms and these are being used against the locals,” Cuma said.