‘Is this a joke or has CENTCOM lost its senses?’ asks Turkish presidential spokesperson over tweet on SDF

ANKARA

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Presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has reacted against U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) after it posted a statement from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on its Twitter account that said the force was not part of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

“Is this a joke or has CENTCOM lost its senses? Do you believe anyone will buy this? The U.S. must stop trying to legitimize a terrorist group,” Kalın stated on his official Twitter account on Jan. 12.

Is this a joke or @CENTCOM has lost its senses? Do you believe anyone will buy this? The US must stop trying to legitimize a terrorist group

— Ibrahim Kalin (@ikalin1) 12 Ocak 2017

 
The CENTCOM posted a statement by the SDF and said “the SDF confirms that it has no affiliation or ties to PKK.”

“Our force is not part of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK),” the SDF’s general command said in a statement posted on Central Command’s Twitter account, adding that it considered itself “part of the Syrian nation and Syrian land.”
 
The group, which includes Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen fighters, is primarily comprised of the YPG. Turkey considers the group to be the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.