Turkey Raises Flags at Syrian Border After US Flags Appear in Kurdish-Held City

The authorities of Akcakale District in the Turkish province of Sanliurfa raised Turkish flags at the Syrian border, in response to American flags raised at the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) headquarters in the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad,

"Residents of Akcakale District are loyal to their motherland and the Turkish people. We are proud of our flag while terrorists are planning to create a state under the US flag in Syria," said head of the Akcakale administration Abdulkehim Aykhan who initiated the idea.

Akcakale forms a divided city with Tel Abyad in Syria, maintaining a border crossing.

According to Aykhan, the move was in response to PYD forces that raised United States flags in various locations in Tel Abyad last week.

"They’re building a house of cards which will be destroyed by the first wind gust, but Turkey was and will be a strong state," the official told Anadolu news agency.

Located in Raqqa Province, Tel Abyad is currently held by PYD forces. The Kurds feared a possible attacked by Turkish-backed militants. US flags appeared in the city in an apparent attempt to prevent an attack.

US flag in Tel Abyad

© Sputnik / Hikmet Durgun

"Ankara’s goal is to capture Tel Abyad under the pretense of conducting a campaign to liberate Raqqa from Daesh. We informed our US allies about this development. Following that, a US military representative visited our town and ordered the raising of American flags in all strategic locations to prevent the incursion by Turkish forces," a Kurdish representative in Tel Abyad told Sputnik.