YPG/PKK terrorists building cells to hold civilian detainees in tunnels in N.Syria

MANBIJ/AYN AL-ARAB, Syria

The YPG/PKK terror group is building cells to hold civilian detainees in tunnels it is digging in northern Syria's Manbij and Ayn al-Arab regions, according to local sources.

Despite promises by both the US and Russia on the YPG/PKK terrorist group withdrawing 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Turkiye’s southern border, the terror group continues to dig tunnels in the cities of Manbij and Ayn al-Arab, which it continues to occupy in northern Syria.

Footage by Anadolu Agency teams on the ground showed that tunnels were dug 4 meters (13 feet) under the ground.

The tunnels, about 2 m (6.5 ft) high and 1 m (3.2 ft) wide, are connected to each other and have excavation tools, cells, crenelated doors, ventilation gaps, and power lines.

Terrorists are also using civilians they detain in illegal tunnel excavation works, according to local sources.

The tunnels, hundreds of kilometers long in different regions that the terror group occupied in northern Syria, are also being reinforced with concrete against air attacks.

YPG/PKK in Manbij, Tal Rifat, and Ayn Al-Arab, Syria

The YPG/PKK terrorists still threaten the secure atmosphere of the safe regions with their terrorist attacks in northern Syria.

The YPG/PKK mostly carries out terror attacks in Manbij, Ayn Al-Arab, and the Tal Rifat district of Aleppo. The terror group even uses these regions as bases for its attacks.

The terrorist organization, which occupied around one-third of Syria's territory with support from the US, often targets Azaz, Marea, al-Bab, Jarablus, Afrin, Tel Abyad, and Ras al-Ayn in northern Syria with heavy weapons.

Terrorists also often target Turkish security forces that provide security in the Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Peace Spring operation areas, and try to infiltrate the positions of Syrian opposition fighters from regions that the terror group was supposed to withdraw from under the agreements with the US and Russia.

After chairing a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "We will soon take new steps on the incomplete portions of the project we launched on the 30-km (18.6-mi) safe zone we established along our southern border." Erdogan said the operation would be launched as soon as the military, intelligence, and security forces have completed their preparations.

Since 2016, Turkiye has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.