10 May 2016•Update: 11 May 2016
By Selen Temizer
ANKARA
A Syrian opposition leader has accused the Bashar al-Assad regime and the PKK terrorist group of seeking to impose a siege on thousands of civilians in Aleppo province.
"The Syrian regime, the PKK and the latter’s Syrian affiliate -- the PYD -- are trying to besiege some 500,000 civilians in Aleppo," Abu Tawfik, leader of the Nour Eddin al-Zenki movement, told Anadolu Agency.
He said his movement, which operates under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army, was at the forefront of protests that erupted in 2011 against the Assad regime.
"The suppression of protestors by the regime forced us to take up arms," Abu Tawfik said, asserting that around 70 different factions had since joined his group.
"We’re fighting against Russia, Shia militias and Iran," said the opposition leader, whose 5,000-strong movement is active in Aleppo and northern Idlib.
He went on to say there was close coordination between the Syrian regime and the PYD, citing the latter’s support for regime attempts to close the Castello road -- the opposition’s only route to Idlib and the Turkish border.
Abu Tawfik warned against the possibility of Aleppo falling into the hands of the regime.
"The fall of Aleppo to the regime would mean the end of the revolution," he said.
"If the Castello road is cut off, civilians in Aleppo will be living under a siege," he asserted.
He went on to criticize the classification of different opposition groups as "moderate" or "Islamist".
"Foreign intelligence services are keen to classify various opposition groups to serve their own interests," he said.
Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.
* Anadolu Agency Correspondent Mahmoud Barakat contributed to this story from Ankara.
