Syrians displaced by YPG/PKK want to return to homeland Tal Rifat

The residents of the Tal Rifat district, northern Syria, who were forced to flee their homes by the YPG/PKK terrorist group, want the district to be cleared of terrorists so that they could return to their homes.

A total of 250,000 civilians in the Tal Rifat and the surrounding areas, which were occupied by the YPG/PKK terrorists in February 2016 with the air support of Russia, were displaced and they sought refuge in regions close to the Turkish border.

The displaced people of Tal Rifat have been struggling to live away from their homes for more than six years in the makeshift tents they set up with their own means in and around the Azaz district on the Turkish border.

Abdulrahman Obeid, a 13-year-old boy who was forcibly displaced along with his family, told Anadolu Agency that he misses the days when he used to play games with his cousins in their neighborhood.

"We were separated from my cousins. We live a bad life here. Life in a tent is not good. Even if our house in Tal Rifat is destroyed, I want to go back. We will fix our destroyed house," Obeid said.

Bashir Allito, who took refuge in the Azaz district after he was forced to flee from his home in Tal Rifat, said: "All the houses in the district became unusable after the attacks by terrorists, so civilians had to migrate to the borderline."

"We want to go back to our home and our old life. We have not given up on this idea, we insist. No matter how long the process is, we live with this hope. We trust in Turkey's efforts as the country wants to remove the terror threat from its borders. It takes care of the refugees living on the border," Allito added.

The YPG/PKK terror group often mounts attacks on Jarabulus, Afrin, and Azaz from the Manbij and Tal Rifat areas in Syria.

The YPG/PKK terrorists often target Turkish security forces who provide security in the operations Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring areas, and try to infiltrate the positions of Syrian opposition fighters from regions that the terror group was supposed to withdraw from under the agreements with the US and Russia.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK-listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU-has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.