Gov’t must inform parliament of anti-PYD shelling: CHP

ANKARA

AA photo

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has demanded that the government immediately brief parliament on the Turkish army’s recent shelling of the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria.

Party officials told private broadcaster CNN Türk that there were a number of “uncertainties” over the shelling in terms of scope, time, objective and target. They therefore highlighted the need for urgent briefing from the government to parliament in order to clarify the issue and inform the public.

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was scheduled to meet with experts over Syria on Feb. 15 covering topics such as clashes in the region, Turkey’s stance, the role of the U.S. and Russia, and steps to be taken. 

“We are worried about Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian quagmire. We don’t want Turkey to be a direct part of the Syrian civil war,” party officials said, adding that they were “closely following developments in the region.”

However, the officials also noted the necessity of retaliatory steps within the framework of self-defense against attacks targeting Turkey, vowing to support all kinds of measures taken on the issue.

The Turkish army has been shelling targets of thePYD’s military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), in northern Syria since the weekend. The YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), had seized an air base north of Aleppo, further complicating the conflict on NATO-member Turkey’s southern border.