Syrian refugees who took shelter in Turkey, fleeing the pressure imposed by the PKK's Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), indicated that they have been waiting for the elimination of the terror group from the region to return to their homes in Raqqa.
Ammar Halil, a Syrian who fled Raqqa and took shelter in Turkey told Anadolu Agency that their struggle began when Raqqa fell into the hands of Daesh and later controlled by the terrorist PYD. Stressing that people in Raqqa faced forced conscription and pressure, Halil said he decided to leave Syria. "They took my shop away, and I had to come to Turkey. My father stayed in Raqqa to take care of his mother. When I talked to him by phone, he said the PKK/PYD took our shops and were using our houses. I told him that I wanted go back to Raqqa, but he told me not to go as PYD forces conscripts to fight in the war.," Halil said and added that the PYD/PKK demands a large amount of money from Arab people who want to return to Raqqa.
Underlining that people had to leave Raqqa, suffering deeply because of the Assad regime, Daesh and PYD/PKK, Halil said there are no differences between Daesh and the PYD. Fedya Hamet, another Syrian refugee living in Turkey said that the PYD/PKK forced people to leave Raqqa by capturing their properties and forcing young people to join the war. Hamet stressed that young people face imprisonment if they refuse to join the PYD. "They do not train the young people they conscript and force them to fight in the front," Hamet said, adding, "All we want is the ousting of the PYD."
