YPG in Afrin accepts UN ceasefire, reserves right to defend if attacked

The US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) on Sunday declared their readiness to adhere to the recently adopted UN Security Council Resolution for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) on Sunday declared their readiness to adhere to the recently adopted UN Security Council Resolution for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria.

In a statement, the YPG affirmed its support for UN Security Council Resolution 2401, which aims to establish an immediate nationwide ceasefire in Syria.

The resolution mainly focuses on enabling aid workers to access civilians in areas across the country affected by recent bombardments, namely in eastern Ghouta near Syria’s capital.

The YPG has been in a month-long military confrontation with Turkish troops and Ankara-backed rebels on various front lines in the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin.

In the statement, the YPG also reserved the right to self-defense in response to any breaches or military attacks on its forces in the region by Turkish fighters.

On Jan. 20, Turkey announced the military operation intended to drive out the YPG, its Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), and the ruling party Democratic Union Party (PYD) from Afrin.

Recent UN reports state that over 15,000 people have been displaced in Afrin since the start of the Turkish aggression. Hundreds of civilians have been killed and wounded, according to the Afrin Hospital.

Ankara views the PYD, and its military wing, the YPG and the YPJ, as a ‘terrorist’ group and an extension of the outlawed PKK, a group fighting a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish government in Turkey.

Editing by Nadia Riva