FILE IMAGE: ypgrojava.org
On September 16, Nouri Mahmoud, a spokesman for the People’s Protection Units (YPG), denied in an official statement that the Kurdish group is planning to participate in the upcoming military operation of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies against militants in the northern Syrian governorate of Idlib.
“Some media outlets have been speaking about participation of our forces in this operation. This kind of allegation is mere speculation and is far from the truth … As the People’s Defense Units and Women’s Defense Units (YPJ), we assure the public that our forces are continuing their hard struggle against the ISIS terrorist organization,” Mahmoud said in the statement.
Furthermore, the YPG spokesman pointed out that the group will continue to carry out attacks on “the Turkish invasion army” in the northern Syrian region of Afrin.
In late July, Aldar Khalil, co-president of the executive body of the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), said that Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria are ready to participate in any military operation the SAA in Idlib if this brings them closer to retaking Afrin. This statement led to a series of reports, which claimed that the YPG will take part in the highly-anticipated battle in Idlib.
The most recent claim came from Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said in a letter to New York Times editors two days ago that the YPG may aid the Damascus government in an attack on Idlib.
However, the September 16 YPG statement included no real news. No experts really expected that the Kurdish group, which is an ally of the US, will participate in any kind of Idlib operation launched by the SAA. Furthermore, this highly unlikely scenario could provoke Turkey to expand its military efforts against the Kurdish faction in Syria.
