WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Kurdish groups should return territory seized from Daesh to local authorities to allow refugees to return home, US Department of State spokesperson Mark Toner told Sputnik.
"We want to see them [Kurds] return that territory to some kind of local authority, local governance so that refugees can then return to that area," Toner stated on Monday.
The United States, Toner continued, has made it clear to members of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) that they should not actually seize the land they are liberating from Daesh.
Turkey has been shelling YPG positions in northern Syria along the Turkish border since February to stop the Kurds from seizing more ground in the area.
Ankara considers the YPG to be an ally of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a separatist movement fighting for Kurdish self-determination in southeastern Turkey.
Last week, the Russian center for reconciliation in Syria said it received reports from the Syrian General Staff and Kurdish militias of continuing artillery shelling from Turkey despite the ceasefire regime that has been in force since February 27.
Syrian Kurds have also accused Turkey of keeping the border open for militant groups and supplying them with weapons.
