We are not against turkey… The Syrian Democratic Forces are our ally and we are not subordinated to them
Minbij Military Council: We are not against turkey… The Syrian Democratic Forces are our ally and we are not subordinated to them
The official spokesperson of the Minbij Military Council, Sharvan Darwish, said that as a military force, they are not subordinated to the Syrian Democratic forces (SDF), considering it an “ally” and that they were the only force in the north and east of Syria deal directly with the international coalition, without returning to the Syrian Democratic Forces.
In the context of his long speech to North Press, Darwish denied any discussion on the creation of checkpoints in Manbij, citing the roadmap they are working on as Turkish-American patrols continue on the dividing line between the Menbij military council and opposition forces.
He noted that the goal of patrolling is to maintain stability and reduce tension.
Turkey
Regarding the ongoing threats repeated intermittently by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan towards Minbij, Sharvan Darwish explained that the threats are still going on, but they increased decrease depending on the internal conditions of the country, their relations with the United States and Russia, and the conditions of the Turkish intervention In Syria.
He praised their defensive and military measures, stating that they are ready and willing to respond to the threats, and they have the right to defend themselves.
Darwish said that there are US-Turkish discussions to arrive at an acceptable form between the two sides, stressing that they have fundamentals of which they do not accept to change, pointing out that they are not interested in antagonizing Turkey, supporting the Syrian discussion projects of which the parties have mutual respect.
They were open to any discussion to resolve their problem with Turkey, classifying its presence in Syria as an “occupation.”
The leader of the Minbij military council said that in May 2016 they met with the Turkish side, under the American supervision, at the “Incirlik” base in the south of Turkey, to begin the campaign of expelling the Islamic State organization from the town, after Turkey’s obstruction of the military operations against the organization, in Minbij.
The structure
Speaking on the structure of their military council, which is one of the factions of the Syrian Democratic forces, Darwish explained that they perceive the Syrian Democratic forces as allied forces, not a supervising force, noting that they have their privacy in Minbij, in particular, the military council.
He stressed the support the “SDF” presented to their forces, expressing their gratitude to the “SDF” for having contributed to the expulsion of the Islamic State from the town of Minbij.
Children
In term of his commitments towards the international instruments of military forces, Darwish referred to the issue of recruiting children, saying ” Some children come to join us and some others come with their parents to be approved in our ranks,
however, we are very clear in this regard, as every person under the legal age is not approved to join the council, and we have Documented evidence of the persons who have applied for joining the council, who are under the legal age, we rejected their
request and we get them back to their families.
Furthermore, he said that all of their fighters are from Minbij and its countryside and that they had made a significant advance in organizing and training their troops in the military regiments.
Minbij-Fattah Issa/Jihad Nabo-NPA