Researcher: Turkey wants to replace YPG with its associated councils in border areas

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The writer Richard Hill, in the British Independent, talks about the extent of the relation of the Turkish attacks on North Syria with the campaign led by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the last strongholds of IS mercenaries in Deir ez-Zor.

The writer said, "The Turkish bombardment has enforced the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to stop their battle against the last remaining stronghold of IS, pointing out to the wounding of two correspondents of ANHA agency.

The writer noted that Ahmed Tawfiq, 42 years old, has fled his hometown of Girê Spî before, when IS mercenaries stormed the streets where he grew up until they finally took control of them in 2014. Now, Ahmed says that it is obvious that there is no difference between Turkey and IS."

He notes that Turkey has been threatening since a long time to launch an attack on the city of Girê Spî, referring to the recent attacks on the city that led to the killing and wounding of civilians.

Ahmed added, "The situation in the past few days has been very bad. Several mortars landed near my house."

Hill continued his article and said, "In the wake of the attacks that killed a 10-year-old girl and injured two correspondents, residents in Tel Abyed told the Independent newspaper that the Turkish attacks were violent and did not distinguish between civilians and military soldiers."

The writer wonders, "What is the extent of the relation of the recent Turkish attacks on North Syria with the Syrian Democratic Forces' attack on the last bastion of IS in Syria with the support of the International Alliance Forces, the thing which caused the stop of the operations of SDF against IS?

The writer confirms, "It seems that the Turks do not care about anyone, neither civilians nor International Alliance Forces that support the Syrian Democratic Forces despite the warnings issued by the spokesman of the International Alliance against IS the General Shaun Ryan."

On Friday, the Turkish army shot two correspondents working for Hawar news agency who are the 19-year-old Gulistan Mohammed and she is in a critical condition and her comrade Ibrahim Ahmed.

He explains that the confrontation between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces comes at a difficult time for the International Alliance led by US, where SDF is fighting with the support of the US forces and air strikes to restore the last piece of populated land controlled by IS in Syria.

The newspaper quoted that Turkey's strategy is to put pressure on the United States to accept Ankara's long-standing demand to force the People Protection Units to move away from the border areas and replace them with councils linked to Ankara as they did in Afrin."

He added, "This bombing certainly disturbs Washington,"

"The unilateral military strikes on north-west Syria by any party, especially that the American personnel may be present or present in the vicinity form a source of great concern to us," the US State Department's spokesman Robert Paladino said on Thursday.

H/S

ANHA