ALEPPO
The Syrian PYD has lost control of Duden town in northern Aleppo.
Syrian Turkmens seized control of the town which has mixed Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen populations. The town was under PYD control for ten months.
Bilal Mustafa Ali, commander of the Turkmen troops, told the Anadolu Agency that PYD would fight against the Syrian regime with the Free Syrian Army and provide security in the region but instead seized control of the town .
PYD tried to supply arms to Kurdish people in order to take full control of the region, said Ali.
"PYD flew flags everywhere in the region making propaganda. They inhibited humanitarian aid sent to us. They even tried to prevent Tukmen troops from fighting against the Assad regime in Aleppo," said Ali.
Ali said PYD did not adhere to the deal and The Free Syrian Army had to carry out operations against PYD.
"We do not have any problems with the Kurdish people," he said. [...] Our only enemy is the Assad regime and we are battling against his regime. We would like to live in peace with Kurdish people."
He also expressed concern that PYD was seeking autonomy in northern Syria.
Ebu Suleyman, a prominent Kurd in the town, said they were trying to protect their lands reiterating that they should be considered separate from PYD.
Turkmen communities coexist within Kurdish majority areas in a geographic region near the Syrian-Turkish border that runs from the northwestern governorates of Idlib and Aleppo to the northeastern governorate of Raqqa. Syrian Turkmens fear that PYD is seeking to declare an autonomous Kurdish state in the region.
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