The dirty war against Kurds in Syria

ANF – News Desk 04.08.2013 –  A leader of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), supported by the West and Turkey threatens to destroy the Kurds and declares that the FSA brigades joined Al-Qaeda-linked groups against Kurds with weapons supplied by foreign countries. The brigades which refuse to be part of this war are threatened, while many members of Al-Qaeda continue to enter Syria through Turkey, with the help of pro-government “associations”.

Since July 16 the Kurds have been attacked by jihadist groups, like the al-Nosra and Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant. These groups have suffered heavy losses against Kurdish fighters, since the begun fighting against them. In particular, they were driven out of Rass al-Ain (Serekaniye in Kurdish), on the border with Turkey, losing an important border post where they received weapons and reinforcements. All attempts to regain this position resulted in heavy casualties which included several jihadist leaders. Unable to advance against the Kurdish fighters, jihadists have begun to loot, kidnap, execute and kill Kurds. At least 70 civilians, mostly women and children, were brutally massacred between 31 July and 1 August, in the small towns of Tall Hassel and Tall Aren in the province of Aleppo. Thousands of people are trapped and threatened with execution and rape in this region, where some 40,000 Kurds live. Many young people have been executed for the sole reason of being Kurds, according to villagers who managed to escape. Hundreds of civilians were abducted. Most of them are women and children.

The FSA brigades which are known to get Western military, diplomatic and financial support are also involved in the massacre. In a video, the head of the military council of the FSA Aleppo province, Abdul Jabar al-Akidi is seen next to another FSA commander and says they will wipe out the Kurds after the meeting which brought together 70 commanders of the “Syrian opposition” in Antep, Turkey, on July 26. Openly declaring the involvement of the FSA brigades in the massacre of Kurdish civilians in Tall Hassel and Tall Aren, he added that the military council took the decision to exclude the front al-Akrad (Kurdish) who refuses to join the jihadists and support al-Qaeda against the Kurds. He asked the head of al-Akrad to surrender its weapons.

Heavy fighting had recently taken place between fighters of the al-Akrad Front and jihadists, especially in the regions of Aleppo and Raqa. Composed of members of all ethnic groups in Syria, al-Akrad has some forty battalions, especially in the areas of Bab Azzaz and Aleppo. It is part of the military council of the “real” Free Syrian Army. The al-Nusra front and EIIL have also issued a fatwa accusing the FSA brigades of being “traitors” if they do not want to wage war against the Kurds, according to reports from news agency NAHA.

Reacting to the threats by FSA commanders, the general representative of the Kurdish front, Hadji Ahmad Al-Kurdi, told ANF that his brigades will never surrender their weapons. “Nobody gave us these weapons. It is the people we have sworn to defend against repression and massacres of the Baath regime that gave us these weapons. That is why I sent this message to Abdel Jabar al-Akidi who asked us to surrender our weapons: Come and take them, if you are that brave”.

The head of al-Akrad front emphasizes that Western countries need to know which armed bands have received weapons and for what purposes they are used. He describes the actions of these “armed gangs” in the areas of Tall Aran, Tall Hassel, Bab, Mumbic and Jarablus: “These gangs kidnap people in the streets and they disappear. In particular, they kidnap wealthy people and torture them for days asking for a ransom. Nearly 50 people have been kidnapped in the region. These gangs have no revolutionary goal. Their actions are not at all consistent with Islam. Instead, they damage the image of Islam. This is banditry, looting. Since when bandits, thieves and looters have become revolutionaries, I ask?”

The other peoples of the region, notably the Arabs and Assyrian-Chaldeans, are also victims of looting. “They do not act in name of Allah, nor Islam, they are just here for theft and looting. They are all foreigners”, said Watha Ali, a resident of Rass al-Ain. The Kurdish people’s defense units (YPG) said on August 3rd that the Free Syrian Army forged an alliance with al-Qaeda groups against Kurds.

While Kurdish fighters are pursuing a major operation to drive the extremists out of the historic area of Tal Halaf and the city of Tall Abyad, on the border with Turkey, other members of al-Qaeda are trying to enter Syria from Turkey. At least 100 alleged members of al-Qaeda have left Istanbul on August 3rd. In Istanbul they were housed in hotels while waiting to enter Syria, according to news agency DIHA. 180 people were housed in hotels in Taksim Square by the Islamic humanitarian organization IHH (which organized the Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010). Most of these alleged al-Qaeda members reportedly hold English passports.