Baladi News – (Rima Mohammed)
A Syrian State TV report dated 25 May described a “peculiar military operation “in Afrin north from Aleppo by “Syrian competent security forces”, which, resulted in the capture of terrorist “Abdul Rahman Kanjo” and the confiscation of more than 25 tons of make-shift hospitals materials coming from Turkey through Bab al-Hawa border crossing , that were scheduled to be transported to the city of Mosul in Iraq.
Going back to the date of the report, Baladi News found that Afrin city was under the control of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units at the time.
The units, which represent themselves as opposing the Syrian regime, have often denied any security or military cooperation with Damascus, disavowing being politically affiliated with the regime.
Journalist Abdullah al-Ahmed, who had a relation with Abdul Rahman, said to Baladi News that Abdul Rahman was actually arrested in Afrin by the Kurdish Units that were in full control of the city, but he ended up appearing in a Syrian TV interview as a detainee of the regime, although there is not any significant activity on the ground by the Syrian regime forces in Afrin. Rather, PYD, the military wing of the Kurdish Units, presents itself as an opponent to the Syrian regime. This is the first time the two sides deal overtly, although everybody knows that they coordinate with each other secretly”
Studies conducted by Kurdistan Institution of Strategic Studies indicated that the fundamental doctrine of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units is based on preventing any Syrian political power to govern the Kurdish areas that are out of the Syrian regime control at any military and humanitarian costs.
Late in 2014, British Foreign Office, through its secretary, Philip Hammond, expressed concern about the rapprochement between the Syrian regime and the Kurdish Units that had been a secret organization since 2004 but has become a major force in the north of Syria since the end of 2013.