| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrian rebels to fight Iraqi ISIS troops |
| 2016-10-20 |
| [ARA News] Hasakah – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will continue their operations against Islamic State’s (ISIS) militants, regardless of the developments of the ongoing Mosul campaign in northern Iraq, a top SDF official said on Wednesday. Talal Silo, commander and official spokesman of the Syrian Democratic Forces, told ARA News: “The ongoing battle for Mosul in Iraq doesn’t have any direct impact on the situation of our forces in Syria. If ISIS’ terrorists make any movements here, especially in the northeastern Hasakah governorate near Iraqi border, our forces [SDF] are ready to defend the region.” “There are ongoing clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces and ISIS terrorists at several fronts in northern Syria. We are also prepared to face any attempts of infiltration by ISIS’ terrorists fleeing from Iraq’s Mosul,” Silo said. In regard to the current situation in the former jihadi pocket of Manbij, the SDF official said: “The recently liberated city of Manbij is now being run by the local councils [military council and civilian council].” “Since its liberation from ISIS terrorists, the city has been run by the local citizens who sacrificed a lot for the freedom of this city,” he said. The SDF spokesman also accused Turkey of impeding SDF progress against ISIS in northern Syria, especially after the Turkish military intervention in the northern countryside of Aleppo Governorate. “We’ve seen the Turkish government, and its leader Erdogan, issuing fake statements to the media concerning the liberated Syrian towns, directing baseless accusations to the SDF,” Silo told ARA News, referring to the Turkish claims that the Kurdish YPG forces [leading member of SDF] is affiliated to the PKK and thus considered a terrorist organization. “We [SDF] have an agreement with the US-led coalition regarding the situation in every area freed from ISIS. The agreement also entails maintaining the SDF-led local forces that have liberated different towns from ISIS, and the necessity to keep those forces to protect their areas. So, Turkey is against this, but the coalition knows how to deal with the Turkish ambitions,” Silo said. Furthermore, several Syrian rebels factions have joined the SDF ranks in the fight against ISIS, according to the official. “We have called on all revolutionary forces in Syria to join the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Since the establishment of the SDF, more than 20 rebel factions have joined our ranks,” he said. “We still have communication channels with other factions, including Arabs and Turkmen. We have invited them to join the Syrian Democratic Forces to liberate and rebuild the country.” |
| Posted by:badanov |