US commander visits PYD/PKK terrorists in Syria’s Raqqa

The Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTOM) General Joseph L. Votel visited the Syrian city of Raqqa, currently under the occupation of terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), following the operation launched by Turkey on Saturday, dubbed Olive Branch, which aims to clear the PKK/PYD-occupied northwestern region from terrorists.

The U.S. government’s aid chief Mark Green also took part in Monday’s visit to the PYD/PKK-occupied city.

The U.S.-led coalition against Daesh does not recognize Afrin as an operational area, Votel said on Saturday.

"We are not paying particular attention to that area with our military resources," General Votel told reporters.

His remark came after Turkey launched an operation, dubbed “Operation Olive Branch” in Syria’s Afrin region which aims to establish security and stability along the Turkish borders and the region as well as to eliminate terrorists and protect the Syrian people from the terrorists’ oppression and cruelty.

The lack of U.S. opposition to Turkey’s Afrin operation is said to have become a “major source of concern” for the PKK/PYD terror group.

Turkey's Operation Olive Branch is carried out against the PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh terrorist groups under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council’s decisions and self-defense right under UN charter.

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.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis promised in a letter sent to his Turkish counterpart Fikri Işık in June that the U.S. will take back weapons sent to PYD/PKK terrorists after the Raqqa operation against Daesh is concluded.

Despite the American administration’s repeated assurances, the U.S. continues to arm PYD/PKK terrorists in Syria.