Agents planted by the Assad regime and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror group have attempted to incite civilians in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab against Turkey, following last Friday’s events that killed seven and left 35 others wounded, according to a member of the Jarabulus council.
Speaking to Yeni Şafak daily, Local Jarabulus Council member Dr. Ahmet Mahli said that recent events in the area have been the work of PKK, Syrian and foreign intelligence agents, who are attempting provoke civilians ahead of Turkey’s upcoming operations in Manbij, Tal Abyad, Sinjar, Qandil and Hasakah, following the success of operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch in Syria’s northwest.
“Seven civilians were killed and 35 others were injured in the two-day events that began on Friday night,” said Mahli, pointing that agents behind the provocations attempted to bring tensions to a boiling point in a bid to especially target Turkish soldiers as they try to incite chaos in the region.
“The brother of the leader of one of the most powerful armed groups in the region, Liwa al-Hamza’s Seyf Abu Bakr, attacked the city’s hospital on Friday. Under pressure from public outrage and demonstrations, Abu Bakr handed over his brother. The Waqi family and the Ahrar al-Sharqia groups also clashed on the same day.”
Mahli pointed that heavy weapons and mortar bombs were used during the clashes in a bid to drag al-Bab back to a tense atmosphere of war.
In the wide-ranging Euphrates Shield Operation launched in August 2016, the Free Syrian Army -- with the support of the Turkish army -- had cleared 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles) of land, including al-Bab, along the Turkish-Syrian border of terrorist elements.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.
