By Mohamad Misto and Adham Kako

ANKARA

The vice-president of Syria’s Supreme Tribal Council has vowed “popular resistance” against the terrorist PKK/PYD organization in PKK/PYD-held areas in northeastern Syria.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Rafea Oqla al-Rajw expected the resistance to start “at any moment” as a result of the “PYD violations and attempts to obliterate the Syrian identity and impose a demographic change in the region”.

“PYD is not less criminal than Daesh,” al-Rajw said. “It’s a Daesh affiliate.”

The Syrian tribal leader noted that the terrorist organization has displaced Arab tribes and killed their members since 2013.

He said the PKK/PYD has distorted the image of Kurds the same way Daesh did to the image of Muslims. “Arab and Kurdish tribes have lived together in peace in the region for hundreds of years,” he said.

Al-Rajw called on the U.S. and the international community to halt their support for the PKK/PYD. “While Daesh is a temporary terrorist threat, the PYD danger is permanent,” he warned.

He revealed that a number of tribes in eastern Syria had recently held a meeting in southeastern Turkey with a view to forming a tribal entity against the PKK/PYD.

He said preparations were underway to hold a conference in the Turkish capital Ankara for all tribes in Syria in the coming few days.

“PYD is continuing its violations,” he said, citing the compulsory military enrollment of Arab residents by the PKK/PYD and demolition of Arab homes in Manbij in Aleppo province.

Al-Rajw also noted that the PKK/PYD in Manbij had handed over 17 Arabs to Syrian regime forces last week.

He said PKK/PYD militants had also killed 23 people in al-Shaddadi town in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour on May 6.

“Arab tribes will not accept the PYD expansion in the region and will fight it with sticks if necessary,” he stressed.

The Syrian tribal leader paid tribute to Turkey for “its support for the Syrian people and for hosting more than three million Syrian refugees”.