TODAY’S LIVE COVERAGE WEST KURDISTAN
Syria Today: The Kurdish Fight v. Insurgents Widens in North – By Joanna Paraszczuk – 21.7.2013
With the regime’s position versus the insurgency once again settling into deadly stalemate across Syria, the complicating development is a new front in the conflict — the Kurdish militia YPG, affiliated to the political movement PYD, battling with insurgents across the north.
The PYD-YPG are only one of the Kurdish groups in Syria, some of whom have supported the insurgency, but it has become the most prominent, both in political and military terms. Since the YPG took over Ras al-Ain near the Turkish border last week, its fight with the insurgency — especially the Islamist insurgency Jabhat al-Nusra — has expanded.
On Saturday, clashes were reported from the northwest near Ras al-Ain to the east in Hasakah Province. The YPG posted confirmation of the deaths of four members in the east, and both the Kurds and insurgents have claimed the killing of dozens of fighters this week. Unconfirmed reports claimed a fight for control of the town of Tal Abyad.
Information is still sketchy, but there is no sign of talks to ease the conflict, let alone pursue a political resolution on the lines sought by a series of discussions — notably one pursued by Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani — last year.
Claims — Kurdish Militia Capture Islamic State of Iraq “Emir” in North
Activists and a Free Syrian Army representative are claiming on social media that Kurdish fighters have taken control of the town of Tal Abyad from the Islamic State of Iraq, detaining the “Emir” Abu Musab.
Reports differ on how Abu Musab was captured. Some activists assert that he was on his way to a Kurdish school, having given the orders to destroy it. Others allege he and his fighters were trying to place bombs around a Kurdish school or even that he was inside the school, threatening to detonate an explosives belt.
There is also confusion over who exactly Abu Musab is. Some activists are referring to Abu Musab as the “Emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and Ash-Sham”, while others say he is the “Emir of Jabhat al Nusra”. Others say he is the Emir of both Islamist groups.
One — obviously unverifiable — claim is that weapons were sent from Turkey to both groups, and that as a result, JAN and ISIS began to concentrate forces on checkpoints around the town, and that after that four people — including Abu Musab — tried to blow up a school but were arrested by local committees charged with the school’s protection.
This claimed image of Abu Musab is circulating on Twitter:
Casualties
The Local Coordination Committees report 80 people killed on Saturday, including 21 in Aleppo Province, 17 in Idlib Province, and 16 in Damascus and its suburbs.
The Violations Documentation Center reports that 66,745 people have been slain since the start of the conflict in March 2011, an increase of 84 since Saturday. Of these, 50,861 were civilians, a rise of 49 from yesterday.
One Response to Syria Today: The Kurdish Fight v. Insurgents Widens in North
X @TaziMorocco
https://twitter.com/TaziMorocco/status/357631975336583169 7/17/2013
ISIS has been expelled from Ras Al Ain, because FSA refused to begin a new war against Kurds, who are helping them in Aleppo. #TwitterKurds
Rodi Khalil @Rodi_Khalil
https://twitter.com/Rodi_Khalil/status/343788091682729986 6/9/2013
The brigade of Jabhat Al-Akrad, Kurdish defense units YPG, and some of FSA battalions are fighting SAA in Kurdish districts in Aleppo.
http://www.kurdwatch.org/?aid=2811&z=en&cure=1009 4/19/2013
Reportedly the Kurdish Front Brigade [Jahbat al-Akrad] was originally initiated by the Supreme Kurdish Council—the common council of the Kurdish National Council and the People’s Council of West Kurdistan. In a founding video from January 2013, FSA and YPG flags are visible. In later videos, the PYD‑flags are missing. Moreover Kurdish Front Brigade has announced that it has completely crossed over to the FSA. According to its own statements, the YPG is currently preventing government troops from marching into Shaykh Maqsud, and is thus fighting on the side of the opposition in Aleppo.
http://eaworldview.com/2013/07/syria-today-the-kurdish-fight-v-insurgents-widens-in-north/