Syrian National Army foils PKK/YPG terror corridor plan: Turkish sources

ANKARA

The Syrian National Army (SNA) of the opposition thwarted the PKK/YPG terror group’s attempt to establish a terror corridor between Tal Rifaat and northeastern Syria through an executed operation, Turkish security sources stated on Dec. 1.

On Nov. 27, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other anti-regime factions launched a major offensive against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, wresting control over a vast swath of territory previously held by government forces.

Following their complete dominion over Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city and the entirety of Idlib, the opposition shifted its focus toward Hama.

The Assad regime’s forces rapidly lost control of strategic territories as opposition forces initiated their operation targeting Aleppo.

In response to this abrupt loss of ground, the regime reportedly solicited assistance from the PKK/YPG terror group, the Turkish sources said in a statement.

“The Syrian regime has begun ceding control of its territories to PKK/YPG elements situated east of the Euphrates. Consequently, a significant number of PKK/YPG militants have moved from the eastern Euphrates to the Aleppo region,” the sources noted.

Seizing upon this opportunity, the terror group sought to implement plans to establish a corridor linking Tal Rifaat with northeastern Syria, the sources said.

Detecting the move by the terror group that took advantage of the opposition’s advance towards Aleppo, groups from the Syrian National Army launched Operation Dawn of Freedom, according to the sources.

By severing the arterial route connecting Raqqa and Aleppo, the SNA effectively disrupted the PKK/YPG’s aspirations to carve out a terror corridor, the sources said.

In an interview with Turkish private channel NTV late on Nov. 30, the Syrian National Coalition’s Prime Minister Abdurrahman Mustafa said that the operation aimed to cut off the PKK/YPG supply line.

The SNA was created in 2017 by the Syrian Interim Government and is a collection of troops to defend regions in Syria’s north controlled by the opposition against the Assad regime and its allies, as well as YPG.

Ankara launched Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 9, 2019, under its right to self-defense as stipulated in Article 51 of the U.N. Charter to target terrorist groups, particularly the PKK/YPG, which threatened the national security in northern Syria.

PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, with the YPG known as the group Syrian offshoot.

Armed opposition groups fighting against the regime in Syria on Nov. 30 seized Aleppo International Airport, which the regime forces had left to the PKK/YPG terrorist group.

The sources said that the regime forces withdrew from the city, leaving the airport located in the eastern part of the city to the opposition armed groups.

Syria's military announced a "temporary troop withdrawal" in Aleppo to prepare a counteroffensive against anti-regime forces.