So-called election plan of terrorist PKK/YPG protested in northern Syria

By Esref Musa and Omer Koparan

TAL ABYAD, Syria (AA) - Residents in northern Syria protested on Friday the so-called local elections plans by the PKK/YPG terror organization in regions it occupies.

Many took to the streets in the Jarablus, Azaz, Afrin, al-Bab and Tal Abyad districts to demonstrate.

Protesters held banners in Arabic that read: “We will not accept Syria as a headquarters or a corridor to threaten neighboring countries”, “PKK's plans to dismember Syria will not succeed” and “The Syrian people with all its components are one.”

- 'We want united Syria'

Musa al-Sarmudi, who was displaced after the PKK/YPG occupied his village in 2015, told Anadolu that he demonstrated to oppose the so-called elections planned by the terror group.

Emphasizing that the election plan is against UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2254, al-Sarmudi said: “We did not have such a goal when we rose up. We are against fragmentation. We want a united Syria.”

He noted that the terror group has occupied “our village of 10,000 acres. Three-hundred and fifty families and 4,000 civilians are displaced to Tal Abyad, Türkiye and liberated areas. We do not recognize (the organization), nor do we recognize their elections.”

Al-Sarmudi urged the international community to implement UNSC Resolution 2254 in Syria and asked the Syrian National Army (SNA) to take action.

- 'This election does not represent any Syrian'

Abu Jaafar Sultan, who fled to Tal Abyad from the Tabqa district in Raqqa province, said: “The terrorist organization is threatening the people with withholding bread and electricity if they don't participate in the elections. This election does not represent any Syrian.”

Sultan said the terror group has destroyed food and homes. “Today, because of them, I am stuck in a tiny area with no oil or water. I was displaced with my family. Whoever opposes them will be arrested and die in their prisons. They are a murderous organization,” he said,

- ‘Meaningless choice made by the organization will lead to the division of Syria'

Leys al-Dehil from Deir ez-Zor, a protester from the Azaz district, said, “We are away from our homeland and home because of the regime and the organization. The meaningless choice made by the organization will lead to the division of Syria. We do not want Syria to be divided.”

“The Syrian people are one as Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds,” said Mareli Mustafa Ismail, adding that only Syrians can decide the future of Syria.

Stating that he participated in protests in Bab district to prevent the division of Syria, Abu Iz said: “We want to create a democratic system after the change of the regime that caused the death of a million people. There are 10 of you, what state are you trying to establish? Syria belongs to 30 million people. You cannot decide this.”

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

The YPG announced plans to hold municipal elections in a region it controls in northeastern Syria to gain legitimacy. The move is opposed by Türkiye due to the YPG's links to the PKK terror group.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel from Istanbul