Hasan al-Hamada, the new defense minister of Syria under the anti-regime forces’ interim government, lashed out at the PKK/YPG terrorist group controlling parts of northeastern Syria and pledged their elimination.
In a social media post on Saturday and after a visit to Manbij, a key town liberated from terrorist groups by the Syrian National Army (SNA) of the opposition, al-Hamada described the PKK/YPG as a “poisoned dagger in the back of revolution for years.” “Now it is a dagger on the entirety of Syria’s back,” he added. Al-Hamada said they were heeding calls in eastern provinces of Syria for their liberation from PKK terrorists. “Free Syria will not have security until we eliminate their separatist plots. It is imminent,” he wrote.
The minister’s remarks echoed earlier statements of Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that led anti-regime forces that toppled the Assad regime. He stated that the interim government would dissolve all armed groups and confiscate all weapons.
The SNA has already launched an operation in parallel with the HTS-led forces’ offensive targeting Aleppo last month. It recaptured Tal Rifaat and Manbij from the terrorist group, which still controls a small enclave in the northeast near the Turkish border.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned on Friday that the PKK/YPG should either dissolve itself or would be eliminated. Fidan said in an interview with broadcaster NTV that “international” members of the YPG must leave Syria as soon as possible as the first step and the entire group should leave the country in the second phase.
The YPG/PKK is behind several recent terrorist attacks in Türkiye, including one that targeted a major aerospace firm in the capital, Ankara. It also launched attacks targeting Turkish border towns in the past.