A senior U.S. official denied that the United States government has provided the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) advanced Javelin anti-tank missiles.
"I just want to underscore that the U.S. government has not deployed Javelin missiles or any weapons directly to the YPG. We have provided limited quantities of ammunition to the Syrian Arabs who fight with the YPG and not directly to the YPG," the official claimed according to Hurriyet news.
Singling out the rumours in the Turkish press that Javelin missiles were given to the YPG by the U.S. the official said, "if you do any research on Javelin missiles, you will find that these missiles are manufactured in the U.S., but the U.S. military is not the only one that purchases them. Several other NATO militaries and militaries of some non-NATO partners, maybe 10 or 15 countries, have purchased these missiles in the past and I assume that they have them in their inventories."
On whether or not those countries gave Javelin's to the YPG the official replied, "I just don't know."
U.S.-made weapons have appeared in the hands of armed Syrian groups. Specifically TOW anti-tank missiles. The U.S. has provided various Syrian opposition groups fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad with such weapons to give them an edge over their much more heavily armed Russian-backed opponent.
Saudi Arabia purchased 500 TOW missiles last year and distributed them to the opposition groups through Turkey. Some of these missiles have been seen in the hands of the jihadi groups Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State.
"I just want to underscore that the U.S. government has not deployed Javelin missiles or any weapons directly to the YPG. We have provided limited quantities of ammunition to the Syrian Arabs who fight with the YPG and not directly to the YPG," the official claimed according to Hurriyet news.
Singling out the rumours in the Turkish press that Javelin missiles were given to the YPG by the U.S. the official said, "if you do any research on Javelin missiles, you will find that these missiles are manufactured in the U.S., but the U.S. military is not the only one that purchases them. Several other NATO militaries and militaries of some non-NATO partners, maybe 10 or 15 countries, have purchased these missiles in the past and I assume that they have them in their inventories."
On whether or not those countries gave Javelin's to the YPG the official replied, "I just don't know."
U.S.-made weapons have appeared in the hands of armed Syrian groups. Specifically TOW anti-tank missiles. The U.S. has provided various Syrian opposition groups fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad with such weapons to give them an edge over their much more heavily armed Russian-backed opponent.
Saudi Arabia purchased 500 TOW missiles last year and distributed them to the opposition groups through Turkey. Some of these missiles have been seen in the hands of the jihadi groups Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State.
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