MESOP : THE CLEANSING STARTS ! – Islamic State Arrests Kurds in Proposed Turkish Safe Zone – IS detain at least 50 Kurds

Basnews – 15.08.2015 – ALEPPO – Islamic State (IS) made a series of arrests on Thursday in the countryside around Al-Bab, eventually detaining over 50 Kurds.

The independent Syrian Kurdish website Welati reports that the Kurds were captured by the jihadist organisation in the village of Shedoud, near the town of Al-Bab.IS carried out armed raids, confiscating a number of houses.Most of the arrested were elderly, and taken to unknown locations.The arrests follow IS restrictions on the local Kurdish population, forcing them to leave to change the ethnic population.

The area is part of a proposed Turkish safe zone, which stretches around a 110 km between Afrin and the city of Kobani.There is speculation that local people have been providing IS with misinformation with the aim of emptying Kurdish villages.In the past IS has blown up the houses of Kurdish civilians in Tel Ebyad, and other cities under their control, fearing that the Kurds would support the People’s Protection Units (YPG).