Turkey “shocked” as US defends PYD-DAESH Deal over Raqqa

Turkish government officials expressed their shock as the US openly defends PKK/PYD’s deal that allowed hundreds of Daesh fighters to flee the besieged city of Raqqa.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim slammed the statement issued by the Pentagon as “shocking.”

“Siding with a terrorist organization for demolishing another terrorist organization is not the kind of work which should be done by states.”

“Local solution to a local issue,” is how Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon defended the agreement to allow around 250 fighters and 3,500 of their family members to flee their de facto capital of Raqqa on November 12.

Pahon said that the “central priority here was the protection of civilian lives and the arrangement was reached by our partners and their local affiliates.”

The US did not elaborate on how the deal was going to save civilians, but Turkish Prime Minister responded to the unprecedented revelation by pointing to its dangers.

“Those Daesh members, who were freed with their weapons, will be able to cause the killing of innocent people, notably in Turkey, Europe and America,” he said.

The deal not only saved one terrorist organization, Daesh, but it opened the gate for another terrorist organization, PKK/YPG, to move in. The prime minister highlighted the multifaceted risks this deal has raised.

According to reports, the deal was struck between Daesh and the SDF, a US-backed force that consists largely of PKK/PYD terrorists. 50 trucks, 13 buses and more than 100 of the group’s own vehicles enabled Daesh’s flight from Raqqa.

The revelation raised serious questions across the world over the role of the US in countries where it has been involved militarily, including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. In a recent interview with Mehdi Hasan, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai accused the US for collaborating with Daesh in order to maintain its presence in the war-torn country for a long term.