The Russian foreign minister’s statements on Syria are without substance – no massacre of Kurdish civilians

Press release by KURDWATCH (BERLIN)

KurdWatch, August 10, 2013—According to the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, 450 Kurdish civilians were killed by fighters for the Islamist Jabhat an Nusrah last Monday. Siamend Hajo, a KurdWatch staff member, doubts these numbers:

»Here Lawrow is adopting the propaganda of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian-Kurdish branch of the PKK. For weeks the PYD has claimed that Islamist units of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have been targeting attacks on Kurdish civilians. Our local informants do not confirm such attacks«.

Indeed, there is fighting between the PYD’s militia, the so-called People’s Defense Units (YPG), and various Islamist units, in which civilians have also been killed. However, the conflicts in many cases are provoked by the YPG, not vice versa according to independent activists from the combat zones near al Qahtaniyah (Tirbesipî), ʿAyn al ʿArab (Kobanî), and Raʾs al ʿAyn (Serê Kaniyê). The high number of (civilian) casualties is also unconfirmed.

The moment in which the conflicts between the PYD and Islamist units began is anything but coincidental. At the end of June, the PYD attacked demonstrators in ʿAmudah who were protesting against the PYD’s kidnapping of independent activists. At least six people were killed, dozens of activists were kidnapped and tortured, and the offices of other Kurdish parties, as well as youth and cultural centers were burned down.

»The incidents in ʿAmudah represent the peak of the PYD’s totalitarian policies of repression in the Kurdish regions thus far and have cost the PYD no small amount of sympathy among the Kurdish population. The PYD wants to regain this sympathy by presenting itself as the only power that is acting against the alleged Islamist attacks on the Kurdish population«, said Siamend Hajo. The fact that the PYD still has not broken with the regime of Bashar al Assad—a position which it shares with the Russian foreign minister—also must not be forgotten when assessing current events:

»Just today, an activist from ʿAyn al ʿArab reported to us that the PYD and its militia are protecting landing sites there that are used by Syrian helicopters. There are numerous other examples of cooperation between the regime and the PYD. In light of this cooperation, the Free Syrian Army and its Islamist supporters have no choice but to view the PYD and its militia as opponents. The Islamist groups that fight with the FSA against the regime and in some cases against PYD units are brutal butchers, but they are not specifically targeting the Kurdish population. To the contrary, it is not currently in their interest to establish a second front that will weaken them in their fight against the regime.«

Further background is available at: ‹www.kurdwatch.org›. Should you have questions, please contact Siamend Hajo, either by email at ‹info@kurdwatch.org› or by phone at +49 176 10 46 46 08.