24 March 2012
ERBIL - An intelligence report submitted to the Turkish government suggests that the Syrian regime has rekindled its support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in retaliation against pressure from Ankara on President Bashar al-Assad to step down, reports Hürriyet Daily News.
PKK members are allowed to move freely in Syria, bear arms and launch propaganda campaigns against Turkey, the report states.
The u-turn in Damascus' policies comes after Syria previously banned the PKK's activities in 1999 due to a bilateral agreement with Turkey.
The report, which was submitted to some government institutions, also states that the PKK branch in Syria was better organized than that in Iraqi Kurdistan.
According to Hürriyet Daily News, the report adds that the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political offshoot of the PKK in Syria, has recently re-established ties with the PKK and launched a propaganda campaign against Turkey.
In addition, PKK elements in Syria have been in close cooperation to stop mass revolts against the al-Assad regime in northern Syria, particularly in Aleppo, whose residents have close ties with Turkey.
From early 1979 to 1999 Syria provided valuable safe havens to the PKK in the region of Beqaa Valley.
ERBIL - An intelligence report submitted to the Turkish government suggests that the Syrian regime has rekindled its support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in retaliation against pressure from Ankara on President Bashar al-Assad to step down, reports Hürriyet Daily News.
PKK members are allowed to move freely in Syria, bear arms and launch propaganda campaigns against Turkey, the report states.
The u-turn in Damascus' policies comes after Syria previously banned the PKK's activities in 1999 due to a bilateral agreement with Turkey.
The report, which was submitted to some government institutions, also states that the PKK branch in Syria was better organized than that in Iraqi Kurdistan.
According to Hürriyet Daily News, the report adds that the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political offshoot of the PKK in Syria, has recently re-established ties with the PKK and launched a propaganda campaign against Turkey.
In addition, PKK elements in Syria have been in close cooperation to stop mass revolts against the al-Assad regime in northern Syria, particularly in Aleppo, whose residents have close ties with Turkey.
From early 1979 to 1999 Syria provided valuable safe havens to the PKK in the region of Beqaa Valley.
© AK News 2012
