SDF defector says US is arming terror groups in Syria

A man who defected from the SDF and is now in Turkey on Friday said the group was "just a name" that provided cover for the US to support the YPG terrorist organisation.

In an interview with Turkey's Anadolu Agency, the group's former spokesperson Talal Silo said he joined the YPG, but later ended up being asked to join the SDF.

The YPG is the armed wing of the PYD which is considered by Turkey as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist organisation.

In its more than three-decade terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK have killed more than 40,000 people, including women and children.

Since the group resumed its armed campaign in July 2015, more than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives.

Silo told Anadolu Agency details of the US arming terrorist groups in the region and what some US officials thought about the PKK/PYD's presence in northern Syria.

Silo said the SDF was "just a name" that provided cover for the US to support the YPG.

Despite Turkey’s objections, the US has provided the PKK/PYD with arms, calling it an ally in the fight against Daesh, but ignoring its terrorist group status.

TRT World's Sara Firth has more from the Syrian city of Jarablus, where Silo had defected.

Silo also explained how the PKK-terrorist dominated force was formed and how the US made a controversial deal to allow Daesh militants to leave the city of Raqqa before it was liberated.