Syrian opposition to back Turkish ops east of Euphrates

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – The National Liberation Front (NLF), an umbrella of anti-regime opposition groups in Syria’s northwestern city of Idlib, said Monday that it would support planned Turkish military operation east of the Euphrates River. </p> <p>It also voiced readiness to confront the YPG/PKK terrorist group.</p> <p>“By allowing sectarian militias into the country, the Assad regime has tried to alter Syria's demographic composition,” the NLF said in a statement. </p> <p>&quot;The regime has created a suitable environment for terrorist groups, including the PKK/PYD/YPG, to the detriment of the Syrian people,” the organization added.</p> <p>The Assad regime, it went on to assert, “has turned Syria into a playground for rival regional powers”.</p> <p>The NLF also warned that “certain parties” were actively working to derail planned Turkish military operation east of the Euphrates.</p> <p>&quot;We will support any operation aimed at ensuring regional stability, ending the terrorist presence, and allowing the return of displaced persons to their homes,” the NLF statement read.</p> <p>It added: “We will not allow any group — be it the PKK/YPG or anyone else — to divide our country.”</p> <p>In May, 11 different Syrian opposition groups joined forces in the northwestern city of Idlib under the banner of the NLF.</p> <p>On Sunday, the U.S. warned opposition groups linked to the Free Syrian Army against supporting anticipated Turkish operation east of the Euphrates River.</p> <p>On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that operation could begin &quot;at any moment&quot;, asserting that Turkey would never allow a “terror corridor” to be set up along its border.</p> <p>Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity. </p> <p>According to UN figures, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict to date.