YPG statement on Efrin clashes

ANF  – Efrin 01.11.2013 – The more than month long assault on Efrin carried out by the Islamic State or Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its allies is being organized by Saudi and Turkish intelligence, says a report in Özgür Gündem. The assault, according to a statement from the YPG, was first planned at a meeting a Riyadh and later finalized at a meeting of ISIS leaders and members of Turkish and Saudi intelligence in Azzaz. The YPG statement reads thus:

“The large scale attack on Efrin through Cindirês began on the 22nd of September and was carried out the ISIS. Our forces with the support of our people met the assault with fierce resistance, broke the advance of the ISIS and its allies, and forced them to withdraw. The setback left them the ISIS in a desperate position in Cindirês, and at the end of September and the beginning of October the ISIS launched an attack on Free Syrian Army (FSA) units that it was not able to absorb in the village of Qestel Cindo, on the border of Azzaz.

The attacks on Qestel and Yazıbağ were repelled by our forces and the ISIS and its allies suffered heavy loses. At the same time our forces heroic resistance in Dêrik, Serêkaniyê, Kobanê and Aleppo made the foreign actors realize they would not be able to take these places. In order to develop a new plan under the leadership of Saudi Arabia a meeting took place in Riyadh between members of Turkish Intelligence and the Saudi Intelligence Minister Bender Bin Sultan. According to what was alleged to have happened at, this meeting it was agreed that the FSA and ISIS were be joıned in an attack on Efrîn. At this meeting a man named as Zehran Aluş were assigned the task of overseeing the operation and sent to Azzaz. A meeting was held in Azzad in which members of ISIS, Liva el Tevhid and Turkish Intelligence participated. Here plans were developed for an attack on Efrîn and agreement was made to prevent fighting among the different groups. As part of this agreement and in order to put the plan into operation economic aid and military was supplied by Turkey.”

The statement went on to mention that in the first wave of fighting that followed the renewed attack on Efrîn that began on October 27th, 86 assailants were killed in a three day period. It goes on to thank the people of Efrîn, reading “We salute the People of Efrîn – and in particular the mothers of Efrîn – who have not left us alone during this battle, and who – without knowing where it would end – have been on our side with their property and their lives.”

The statement also lists the groups involved in the attack:

1-Liva Tevhid Abdulcabbar Egidi Division, 2-The Islamic Front (ISIS), 3-Cêêş Muhammed, 4-Ehrar Şam, 5-Rabi El Arabi, 6-Hareket Fecr, 7-Liva Beyarek El Şam, 8-Liva Fatih Sultan Mehmet, 9-Ketibet el Baz, 10-Liva Fursan, 11-Liva Selahaddin Kurdi, 12-Ehfad Selahaddin,13-Ketibet Azadi, 14-Ketibet Yusuf El Azma, 15-Cephe İslamiyê Kurdi, 16-Cephet Mücahidi, 17-Liva Furkan.