Syrians angry about PYD 'rags' shown across border

By Muslum Etgu

SANLIURFA, Turkey

Syrian refugees and locals in the border province of Sanliurfa are angry about the terrorist group PKK/PYD showing its colors on “rags” meant to be seen from the other side of the Syrian border, on land they say was stolen from its rightful owners.

Syrians taking shelter in Sanliurfa’s Akcakale district say they were "forced to leave their homes" by the terrorist organizations PKK's Syrian offshoot, the PYD, in areas of northern Syria recently liberated from Daesh.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Syrian Omar Ismail said that Tal Abyad, a district of the Raqqa province in Syria's north, "is all Syrians' land."

"We know that the U.S. is making PYD put up their rags," he said, referring to controversial U.S. support for the terrorist group. "We will soon be back in our own lands."

Another Syrian, Yasin Omar, complained of the PYD "forcing the true owners off their land" and "trying to change the region's demographic makeup."

Referring to the terrorist PYD’s leader, Salih Muslim Muhammad, and Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed head of the terrorist PKK, he added, "I say this to Ocalan's partner Salih Muslim: Those are the lands of our great-grandfathers. They have no right to force us out, taking the bordering districts."

Omar also claimed that the PYD is forcibly conscripting young Arabs to "military training," finding them by going door to door.

"If they don't have sons, they want people's daughters. If there are no children in the household, they want money. They have no right whatsoever."

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Akcakale Mayor Abdulhakim Ayhan also said the PYD’s presence in Tal Abyad will likely be "temporary."

"Hopefully, the real owners of those lands will go back and take down the PYD's rags," he said. "The municipality will fly our Turkish flags so they will be on guard. Residents here are very sensitive on the issue."

This September the PYD flew U.S. flags from buildings they occupied to send a false signal that the U.S. military was present in the area as well.

The PKK and its Syrian offshoot the PYD are both listed as terrorist groups by Turkey although the U.S. and the EU only view the PKK as a terrorist organization.