Report / Suriye Gündemi
Talal Silo, the spokesman of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has made important statements to the Anadolu Agency, after he fled towards Turkey. According to Silo, the SDF is controlled by the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK, and it is known to US officials. Silo confessed that the PKK is controlling the arms given to the SDF. Talal Silo’s statements are a high-level testimony and confession. Especially the statements about irregularity, falsified signatures and name ‚games‘ realized as a result of McGurk’s directive are important.
Silo said that he went to Afrin at the beginning of August 2015 and participated in the structuring of the FSA-inspired militia Jaysh al Thuwwar. The process was led by PKK regional director Hacı Ahmet Hudro. “Ebu Ali Berad was at the head of the Arabs, Selah Çebbo at the head of the Kurds. I was responsible for the Turkmens. I worked under the management of Jaysh al Thuwwar. But the decision-maker was Hudro (PKK). Then they told me to join SDF. The first meeting for it was with PKK region manager Sahin Cilo.” he said.
Silo made some noteworthy comments about the establishment of the SDF. The first meeting of the so-called SDF was held on 15 October 2015, but the foundation was declared as October 10. The reason for this irregularity was, the US has carried out arms shipments on 10 October in the Hasakah region, Silo informed. This date announcement was particularly requested by PKK’s Sahin Cilo to justify weapon shipments between 10 and 15 October. According to Silo US fostered the formation of a SDF umbrella, because arming YPG would lead to problems in an international level.
Silo said that the foundation of the SDF was other then assumed realized at the request of the USA: “It’s just a name. It’s nothing else. We get everything including the salary from the YPG. The main reason for the establishment of the SDF is the United States. The US administration wanted to give the Kurds weapons. The SDF is only one theater. It’s referring to the union of the components, but it‘s nothing like that. The US gave the leadership to Kurds and the PKK”.
He also criticized the SDF for deals with ISIS and that it forces civilians to migrate, destroying houses and not giving peace to people living in refugee camps.
Silo said that weapons shipments from the United States were merely signed by symbolic Arab deputies within the SDF, but weapons were in reality handed over to the PKK leader Safkan from Turkey. “The pureblood would take the weapons only one place they knew. It goes on like this again. For example, in the operation of Manbij, all weapons (on paper) were delivered to the Arab Abu Amjad. They did knowingly, it was a theater”, the former SDF spokesman added.
All these ideas to build up a PKK-led “multi-ethnic” force came from by McGurk according to the Silo. The ethnic Turkmen leader informs further that during the Raqqa operation and the Deir Ezzor operation, McGurk ordered the establishment of symbolic organisations like the Deir Ezzor Military Council or the Arab Coalition in Raqqa. While weapons were officially send to these symbolic organisations, they were again actually handed over to YPG.
Although the consideration of the YPG is not logically justifiable in the majority of Arab regions, Brett McGurk has again favoured the YPG. This leads to the conclusion that McGurk, the special representative of the international coalition, has abused his duty and deceived the international public consciously.
Remarkable is that the senior PKK official Şahin Cilo, who is on Turkey‘s most wanted list, was handing over the list of needed weapons to US officials, another indication that the USA have no problems in maintaining direct contacts with the terrorist PKK. “Everybody knows Şahin Cilo. He is responsible for all the work. His assistant was Kahraman who is also from the PKK leadership. I was the authorized officer number three. At every point in Syria there are control points and follow-up teams of the PKK. There is a PKK leader in the court, including the civilian assembly, health and all other areas“, Silo noticed.
The former SDF spokesman underlines that the YPG is actually led by PKK‘s Qandil veterans in Syria. He says:
“Although Cilo is president, Bahoz Erdal has the authority over him. Bahoz also receives instructions from Qandil by Sabri Ok. After Erdal was called back to Qandil, Nureddin Sofi came instead. They gave the instructions to Cilo. Cilo and his assistant Kahraman is only in the leading team. There are many offices, but there are no new names due to the disputes between them. Hajji Ahmet Hudro, Mahmut Berhudan and Nocin (a women) are the PKK and YPG officials in Afrin. Administratively the entire region is managed by Halil Tefdem. Again Bahoz Erdal gives him instructions. Ismail Direk, one of the PKK leaders, is heading the region of Manbij. The military officer is Cemil Mazlum. Raqqa’s military and civilian manager is Hasan, who came from Europe. Polat Can who is one of the leading names of the PKK is responsible for Deir Ezzor. Nureddin Sofi went to Qandil during Karayılan’s press conference. Then he came back. They are going and coming secretly.”
Silo claimed the total number of militants in the SDF is around 50.000. About 70 percent of the number is considered part of YPG. In the whole „multi-ethnic force“ only 65 militants were Turkmen and Syriac Military Council has about 50 men. Silo also mentioned the Sanadid force from the Shammair tribe within the SDF, saying that Sheikh Bender is leading, but the group is ignored by PKK.
The statements made by Talal Silo to the Anadolu Agency confirm assumptions of Turkey-based analysts and the Turkish state on the SDF-YPG-PKK relationship. In fact, there is no real division existing between these different militias. Washington is playing a questionable game. While it praises cooperation with Turkey against the arch-enemy of NATO ally Turkey, the USA is cooperating with the PKK in Syria under a different name at the same time. Washington Silo‘s testimony, could strenghten Turkey‘s hand to pressure the US side.
However, the question maintains if McGurk can be sanctioned for irregularities in his work. He is regarded as the undisputed US decision-maker over Syria, who will ultimately draw the USA into new crises with Turkey. Turkey is more than ever ready to cooperate with opponents of the USA, Assad and Iran, when it comes to the PKK/YPG in Syria, which operates under the cover of the SDF.
