Arab tribes continue fight in eastern Syria against terror group PKK/YPG

By Omer Koparan and Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu

AZAZ, Syria (AA) - Clashes continued on Monday between Arab tribes and the terror group PKK/YPG in the eastern Syria province of Deir ez-Zor.

Operations launched by Arab tribes against the PKK/YPG in Deir ez-Zor that started last week expanded with the participation of other Arab tribes.

As the terrorist group faces mounting resistance from Arab tribes who have been displaced by the PKK/YPG, it is gradually retreating from the villages it had previously occupied.

Since Aug. 27, a total of 33 villages have been liberated from YPG/PKK occupation in the rural areas of the Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasakah provinces and the Manbij district of Aleppo.

The withdrawn PKK/YPG terrorists are resorting to night-time attacks in an attempt to inflict casualties on the Arab tribes.

The population of Deir ez-Zor, which the terror group occupied under the pretext of fighting Daesh/ISIS with the support of the US military, are Arabs.

The terrorist group is also forcibly recruiting Arabs and other children in the regions it occupies, as documented by reports by the UN and human rights groups.

The terrorists generate income by selling the oil they obtained by seizing oil wells in the region to Damascus through smugglers despite US sanctions. While the terror group uses this income for its own purposes, the people of the region are deprived of local services and much-needed aid.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan in Istanbul