7 yıl önce

Turkey to clear Syria's Manbij from YPG if plan with US not realised

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Ankara will unilaterally drive the PKK-linked YPG from the Syrian border if it does not reach an agreement with US on a plan to remove the group from Syria's Manbij.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaking in an interview with AA said that if the US and Turkey cannot agree on a path forward in Manbij, Turkey will take unilateral action to clear the PKK-linked YPG from the northern Syrian city.

"If this plan is not realised, the only option left will be clearing away terrorists. This is not just valid for Syria, but also for Iraq," Cavusoglu said.

The minister also said that the administration and security of the area would be determined through demography after the YPG retreats from Manbij.

"Demography is going to be the key criteria in Manbij," Cavusoglu said.

He said if the Manbij model gets implemented successfully then there would not be a need for an operation in Iraq's Sinjar, where PKK militants have set up a stronghold.

However, if the plan in Manbij remains unimplemented then the terrorists would be hit “not just on the east side of the Euphrates River, but also in Iraq," Cavusoglu added.

The Turkish military and Free Syrian Army recently cleared the Afrin town centre of the YPG during Operation Olive Branch, which was launched on January 20.

Turkey considers the PKK to be a terrorist organisation, as does the US and the EU. However, while the US considers the YPG and ally on the ground in Syria, Turkey insists the group is a branch of the PKK.

TRT World's Hasan Abdullah brings us the latest.