ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An official from the People's Protection Units (YPG) denied claims made by Bouthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, that Syrian Kurdish YPG forces are part of the Syrian army. Nesrin Abdullah, a member of the YPG's Public Relations Office, dismissed the allegations of Shaaban who had said YPG has relations with the Syrian army and the National Defense Forces. Abdulla accused Shaaban of trying to capitalize on the YPG’s recent victories on the battlefield. "Officials from the Syrian regime have begun claiming that YPG and YPJ have links with the Syrian army,” he stated. “They are attempting to distort the reality of our forces and expose their targets. And for their political interests, they intend to exploit our achievements." Abdulla continued: "Through this statement I answer the claims Shaaban made. Up until now, the Syrian regime has not acknowledged the YPG. How are they now saying the YPG is part of the [Syrian army]?." Earlier this week, Shaaban claimed that the Syrian Kurdish YPG forces are fighting alongside the regime and Russia “to clear northern Syria of terrorism.” "There is no problem with the Kurds in Syria," she went on to say in an interview with Syrian state media on Friday. Her comments come shortly after Bashar Jaafari, Damascus's envoy to the United Nations, also spoke of coordination with the YPG.
