Turkey claims US weapons to YPG threat to 'humanity'

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkey’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday claimed the US weapons shipped to the Syrian Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State (IS) constituted a threat to “all humanity.”

“Our approach to the [military] aid given to YPG is clear,” Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu said. “We highlight the risks of helping the YPG.”

“Weapons given to the terrorist group can be used against all humanity,” he added.

YPG or the People’s Protection Units is the leading Kurdish force in Syria that spearheads an ongoing US-backed campaign to capture the de facto IS capital of Raqqa.

Cavusoglu’s comment came hours after US Defense Department officials confirmed the beginning of distribution of arms and vehicles to the YPG as authorized by President Donald Trump earlier this month.

Despite emerging as a US ally, the YPG is considered a “terrorist” group by the Turkish government over its controversial ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Speaking to reporters in Ankara at a joint press conference with his Slovene counterpart Karl Erjavec, Cavusoglu also claimed “European countries” had their concerns regarding the US armament of YPG.

Kurdistan24’s Ankara bureau reported that Cavusoglu did not name any European countries that share Turkey’s view on the Syrian Kurds.

Turkish leaders often equate the YPG with IS and al-Qaeda, Islamist groups that conduct attacks worldwide, including in Western countries.

The US decision to send heavy arms and armored vehicles to the YPG came days before a mid-May visit to Washington, DC by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who met Trump in the White House.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany