“In the Afrin area, the PYD has attached itself to civilians, refusing to leave these areas,” Hariri told journalists in a press conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Hariri claimed the PYD has committed one crime after another against Syrians, adding that these crimes were documented by monitoring organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
While Amnesty did accuse the PYD-linked People’s Protection Units (YPG) of committing acts that amounted to “war crimes,” the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry’s report contradicted the human rights monitor’s findings, dismissing allegations of ethnic cleansing.
“It is still in these areas amid a military operation, refusing all types of negotiations. We are asking this organization, just like we asked the Nusra Front, to leave all areas related to the revolution and areas that are actually outside the control of the revolution,” Hariri added.
The Nusra Front is an al-Qaeda affiliated jihadist group operating in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib.
The chief negotiator asked international and regional mediators to urge the PYD to leave the areas. He wants these areas to be demilitarized and to be governed by local residents.
“The military operation in which the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has participated has one goal. It is neither targeting civilians nor destroying facilities. Its goal is forcing the Democratic Union Party out of this area. This party has to make the lives of civilians, the safety and unity of the Syrian people, and the safety and unity of Syrian lands a priority,” Hariri said.
Hariri admitted that hundreds of thousands of refugees from other parts of Syria are living in Afrin, but accused the YPG of using them as human shields. He hopes the operation will be concluded soon.
Hariri also criticized the UN and other international institutions for their lack of action to implement the ceasefire agreement.
Some 281 civilians have lost their lives in Afrin since Operation Olive Branch began on January 20.
The Turkish army reportedly bombed Afrin’s hospital on March 16, killing about 15 people. The Turkish army denies it happened.
