The head of a jihadist group dominated by members of the former Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria voices support for Turkey’s plans to attack Kurdish forces.
Turkey has for weeks threatened to launch a vast cross-border offensive against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which controls most of northeastern Syria. Ankara considers the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to be a terrorist organization.
The head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, does not offer direct military support, but makes it clear that he supports the YPG’s removal from eastern Syria, where it has been battling the Islamic State (IS) group.
“We consider the PKK to be an enemy of this revolution. It controls areas inhabited by large numbers of Sunni Arabs,” he told the HTS-affiliated Amjad media outlet, referring to the YPG.
The YPG extended its influence beyond Kurdish heartlands in northeastern Syria, when it took the lead role in the US-backed ground battle against IS.
— AFP
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