Yeni Şafak: US signals PKK to withdraw from Manbij and Tel Rifaat PHOTO

The aftermath of the NATO summit in Madrid, which decided to fight the PKK/YPG terrorist organization, has begun to be implemented on the ground.

According to Yeni Şafak, the PKK/YPG leaders, who requested security guarantees from the US against possible Turkish operations in Manbij and Tel Rifaat, did not receive the expected support. The US signaled the PKK/YPG to "back off." The process that cornered the terrorists began with the NATO summit in Madrid in late June.

After emphasizing during the summit the "joint fight against the PKK/YPG and FETO," US Senator Lindsey Graham visited Türkiye. He met with presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın at the Mabein Mansion, then traveled to Iraq. Here, Graham met with representatives from the Iraqi government and the regional administration of northern Iraq, and Syria was the top issue on the agenda.

Senator Graham's next stop was Syria. A US delegation, including Gen. John Brennan, commander of the international coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, met Tuesday with members of the PKK/YPG at a military base in rural Hasakah. Ferhat Abdi Shahin, codenamed "Mazlum Kobani," attended the meeting on behalf of the PKK/YPG. At the same time, another US delegation met with members of the PKK in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) and Manbij. Here, too, the terrorists did not get what they wanted.

The US did not support the PKK/YPG, whose members at both meetings demanded "protection from Türkiye". Sources close to the PKK claimed that the US delegation offered to "withdraw from Manbij in order to deter Türkiye from a major operation." Arab sources, on the other hand, noted that the US suggested that the terrorists withdraw from Tel Rifaat. However, the PKK did not accept these offers. The terrorist organization, which issued a statement yesterday, announced a so-called mobilization against a possible operation.

Hostilities continue in the region. Local sources reported that the headquarters of the terrorist organization PKK was attacked in the Al-Arima area in the countryside of Manbij. There were no reports of fatalities or casualties. It was claimed that a so-called member of the Manbij Military Council was killed yesterday morning. The Turkish Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army (SNA) continue to prepare for the fifth operation. In the meantime, new military supplies have been sent to the Aleppo countryside and Ras al-Ain.