Ali Murat Alhas
18 February 2018•Update: 19 February 2018
By Muslum Etgu
SANLIURFA, Turkey
Syrian civilians who fled atrocities committed by PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorist groups have recalled their suffering under the two terror groups in Syria’s northern city of Raqqah.
Ammar Khalil, who used to have a tire shop in Raqqah before the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, said Daesh’s seizure of the city was the start of his suffering, before the situation worsened under PYD/PKK.
"I was forced to leave my shop and take shelter in Turkey,” Khalil told Anadolu Agency.
“I was later told by my father, who had to stay in Raqqah to take care of his mother, that PYD/PKK had seized my shop," he said.
Khalil said he was warned by his father against returning to Raqqah as he would be recruited to as a soldier by PYD/PKK terrorist group.
He cited that PYD/PKK demands about 70,000 Syrian pounds ($135) from Arabs seeking to return to the city.
Khalil lamented that he was unable to take part in the funeral of his uncle, who was killed while trying to dismantle landmines left by Daesh and PYD/PKK.
"It has been 20 days since his death and I can't do anything,” he said. “Assad, Daesh and PYD/PKK are terrorizing us. We don't accept any of them.”
Khalil said Syrians living in Turkey are glad to see Ankara launching Operation Olive Branch to expel PYD/PKK from the northern city of Afrin.
"May God bless [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish Armed Forces," he said.
PYD/PKK terrorism
Fedyah Hamat, another Syrian civilian living in Turkey, said PYD/PKK terrorists had seized her father’s five-story building and her brother’s dessert shop in Raqqah.
"Daesh and PYD/PKK have broken our peace in the city,” she said.
"We were forced to migrate and took shelter in Turkey. May God bless them (Turks); they have given jobs and food,” Hamat said.
“If they clean Raqqah after Afrin, we would be so happy. We would go back to Raqqah once it is cleared from PYD/PKK,” she said.
Hamat underlined that PYD/PKK mistreated Arabs.
"They take a young boy from every house. We don't know where these people end up,” she said. “Nobody goes by their will, they are taken by force. Those who object to recruitment are put in jail.”
"If you refuse to join them, you are labeled as an enemy who is siding with PYD/PKK's enemies. The Arab youth recruited by them are sent to the frontlines, without having any proper training," she stated.
"All we want is that PYD/PKK gets the hell out of Raqqah; My husband and I currently can't go back as we are aware of the fact that they would force my husband to join their forces," she said.
