REPORTS : Radical Islamic Groups Declare Jihad on Kurds in Syria

Ikj-news –  May 30, 2013 – Recent ongoing clashes between insurgents and Kurdish fighters have culminated in a declaration of war in the region of Ifreen, rural Aleppo, in northern Syria. The intensification of clashes in northern Syria comes amid increasing division among Syria’s muddle of armed groups, with one “Free Syrian Army (FSA) battalion” reported to have defected in light of attacks on Kurdish areas.

With insurgent groups in Aleppo and elsewhere in the country under increasing pressure from a confident Syrian army, an absence of a political platform and unrelenting in-fighting, a declaration against Kurdish groups comes as no surprise. The number of militant organisations operation in Syria is estimated at between a few hundred to over a thousand. LiveLeak reported. Reports suggest that at the beginning of the month, Arab clans in Til Temir were armed and encouraged by various “Free Syrian Army (FSA)” groups to confront Kurdish groups. Til Temir is a small town of Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians situated on the road between Serê Kaniyê and Al-Hasakeh. Seemingly, hit and run attacks have resulted in the deaths of YPG members as well as civilians living in Til Temir, with a population of approximately 7000. Despite repeated skirmishes, the YPG managed to hold off the disparate armed groups. Yesterday, a statement signed by no less than twenty-one armed groups declared ”Kurdish defense units, YPG, are traitors because they are against our Jihad.”

The goal, according to the statement, is a “pending the completion of comprehensive cleansing process”, liberation from “PKK and Shabiha”.

The statement was published by the “Syrian Islamic Liberation Front“, a coalition of radical Islamist groups, commonly misreported as being under the umbrella of the “Free Syrian Army” despite being at odds with it’s absent leadership, who are mostly based outside of the country.

The statement, titled “Echo of Qussayr“, published against the backdrop of a crushing defeat in the city, was signed by twenty-one groups including Liwa al-Tawheed, Islamic State in the Levant, Al-Furqan Brigades.

In the meantime, the Sheikh Said Piran battalions fighting alongside the FSA at the Ming Airport and some neighborhoods of Aleppo announced its “complete withdrawal from Aleppo and the beginning of a march to Afrin to defend it against the FSA” Al-Akhbar reported.

The Kurdish Front Brigade, which is close to the YPG despite fighting against the Syrian army alongside the FSA, announced that they are coordinating all their operations with the YPG. “They are with us in the same trench,” it said. However, this is not the first attempt by FSA groups in Aleppo to attack villages under the control of the Kurdish units. In this respect, a Kurdish source explained to Al-Akhbar that the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood “is a bigger threat to the Kurds from the entire Baathist doctrine.” “But anytime the Brotherhood thinks about cleansing Aleppo or its countryside, they will find that the Kurds will be their biggest challenge,” he added. “Despite the Brotherhood knowing that they are fighting a losing battle in Afrin, which will weaken and drain them, they seem to be pulled ideologically,” he said. “This cancels the pragmatic side.” – http://ikjnews.com/?p=6897