YPG/PKK marks jailed leader Ocalan’s birthday

By Selen Temizer and Levent Tok</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – The YPG/PKK terrorist organization marked the birthday of its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan on Friday.</p> <p>According to information from local sources, the YPG/PKK held celebrations in areas of northern Syria under its occupation including Manbij, Tal Abyad, Ayn Isa, Kamisli, Amude and Rumeylan.</p> <p> Posters of Ocalan and banners praising the terror group's leader were carried.</p> <p>Ocalan, born on April 4, 1948, was convicted of terrorism and treason in 1999 and is serving a life sentence in Turkey.</p> <p>The PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU — has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people.</p> <p>The YPG has managed to occupy one-third of Syria under the guise of fighting against Daesh with the support of the U.S.</p> <p>The U.S., which considers the PKK a terrorist organization, changed the YPG’s name to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in July 2017 in order to dissociate it with the PKK.</p> <p>In the last two years, Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations liberated the region from YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians to return to their homes.