Residents of the northern city of Afrin have respond to recent comments from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, Friday. At a press conference on Friday, Tillerson and Cavusoglu on Friday discussed Turkey’s operation into northern Syria which has placed them at odds with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Tillerson assured Cavusoglu that "we have always been clear with Turkey that the weapons provided to the Syrian Democratic Forces would be limited, mission-specific and provided on an incremental basis to achieve military objectives only.” Mahmoud Jagmaki, a journalist in Afrin, urged international powers to continue their support. “The People's and Women’s protection units are the main nucleus of these forces, which have proven to be a strong partner in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East. I do not think international forces can dispense with this anti-terrorism partner because it is the only force that has proved its worth,” he said. Another local resident, Daniel Habash, echoed the sentiment. “The weapons given to the Syrian opposition are now sold on the black market, and we can buy from these groups as we did seven years ago," said Habash. Mohammed Sheiko meanwhile called on the Syrian government to protect Afrin. "We have not said that we want independence, or we want partition. There is a duty of the Syrian government to defend its borders and protect Afrin, which is within the Syrian borders," he said.
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