YPG Commander Hemo: Turkish army has made no advance in Afrin

YPG Commander General Sipan Hemo stated that the Turkish army has made no advances in Afrin despite its intensified attacks and has its eye on Aleppo.

General Commander of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat and stated that the Turkish army has made no advances in Afrin despite all the attacks it has carried out for 18 days now.

Hemo said; “Turkey is trying to crush the will of Kurdish people. Again, tactically, it wants to invade Afrin region and the villages to the east and west of Aleppo because Erdogan sees Aleppo as a part of the Ottoman Empire. Turkish forces have advanced only 500 meters in some locations and 3 km into the border line. This advance is no gain.”

Hemo said that 11 tanks of the Turkish army have been destroyed and many soldiers have been killed since the launch of the operation against Afrin.

YPG Commander General pointed out that Afrin and Shehba regions are receiving no military support amid intensified attacks, adding; “The missiles we use against the Turkish state in Afrin belong to neither America nor Russia. In this regard, America has announced several times that they have no relationship with Shehba and Afrin. Our forces are acting with the Coalition forces in the fight against ISIS only to the east of Euphrates.”