Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said that the Turkish Army would respond to any attack by PYD/PKK militants on Turkey from the Afrin area in northern Syria. Kurtulmus stressed that any military or political support for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) is considered by Turkey to be presented directly to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The Turkish deputy prime minister also said that the United States can’t continue its approach, stressing the need to take into account Turkey’s sensitivity in the matter of PYD/PKK and its activities in the area.
Kurtulmus stressed Turkey’s negative attitude towards the United States decision to provide weapons to the “terrorist” organization in northern Syria.
In Afrin, Kurdish sources claimed that Syrian Army cut off the Aleppo-Afrin road again for unknown reasons, and sources from Afrin claimed that the Russian Army had evacuated its base in Kafr Janah after the United States downed the Syrian warplane on June 18.
According to the same sources, Turkey is building fortifications and strengthen its positions on the border with Afrin, as the Turkish drones continue to fly overAfrin City and surrounding areas. Turkey seems to have a serious intention to launch a military operation in the area soon.
#Turkish army prepares for a ground incursion into #YPG-held #Kurdish canton #Efrin, northwestern #Syria. pic.twitter.com/jSrPVMMDTm
— Ali Özkök (@A_Ozkok) 29 June 2017
At the same time, the Russian military has denied that its military police had left the Afrin area. In this case, reports from Kurdish and Turkish sources on the issue may be considered as a part of the ongoing media standoff among various sides involved in the conflict.
