Thursday, December 05, 2024

TURKIYE'S WAR ON SYRIAN KURDISTAN

The fall of Aleppo disrupted the balance

The fall of Aleppo was unexpected. In particular, the withdrawal of the Syrian army and Russian troops without a fight plunged the region into a dangerous imbalance and cleared the way for Turkey.


ZEKI BEDRAN
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 5 December 2024,

In Syria, there have been unexpected, very rapid developments in recent days. In Idlib, HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) and the other forces had prepared themselves. There was a phase when the government in Damascus had concentrated many troops in the areas and there were repeated mutual battles. Tall Rifat and Shehba were protected to prevent Aleppo from being in danger. Areas such as Manbij were also considered in connection with Aleppo. The Turkish state has made many deals with Moscow and Damascus and people have thought about how to get the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) out of Manbij. But since that would put Aleppo in danger, it remained a theoretical consideration. Now what should not have happened has happened: Aleppo has fallen. Aleppo fell without any fight or resistance. This triggered a domino effect.

This gave HTS the momentum and morale to advance further. The jihadists took the city and raised the Turkish flag over the fortress of Aleppo. The road to Damascus was blocked and another advance began. The Syrian regime could have established a front in front of Aleppo. It had enough ammunition, firepower and air support. If the army had not left the positions, HTS would not have been able to advance. So the question arises why Russia and Syria gave up this strategic area without a fight. By giving up Aleppo, Damascus has put its very existence in danger. Now the regime says it is gathering its forces and will then go on the attack. This means nothing less than giving HTS and the other forces time to prepare to hold these areas. If the army prepares a counterattack and carries it out as announced, the destruction and loss of life will increase many times over.

The attacks on Shehba never stopped

Many of the Kurds displaced after Turkey occupied Afrin had settled in areas such as Tall Rifaat and Shehba. There were intensive preparations to protect the region from possible attacks. In any case, the attacks by the Turkish state and its mercenary troops had not stopped for a moment since 2018. All this time, the Autonomous Administration forces effectively defended the area and controlled the region. However, these areas were not fully under the protection of the Autonomous administration forces. Forces of the regime in Damascus, Russia and other allies were also present. They were firmly stationed and coordinated.

The regime wanted to seize control of Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo

The Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo were under the protection of the self-defense forces. This worried the regime and repeatedly caused tensions. The Assad regime aimed to bring Aleppo as a whole under its control. It repeatedly imposed strict embargoes on these districts and the Shehba region. However, dialogue always managed to avert a military escalation. The Kurdish population in these districts of Aleppo has maintained its own self-government and self-defense since 2012, and the population did not leave the districts even under the heaviest attacks by Islamists with poison gas and other weapons. Instead, these districts always remained islands of resistance. Here, the people were best prepared for the current attack and the defense measures were very good.

Retreat or war?

However, all defense measures were undermined by one factor. Aleppo fell to the jihadists against all calculations. In this way, areas such as Tall Rifaat and Shehba became open to attacks by Turkey. Even though HTS initially declared that it would not take any action against the Kurdish districts in Aleppo and had no intention of fighting the Kurds, the jihadists put a lot of effort into gaining control of the city as a whole. The people in the self-governing districts had no other option than to fight. The question arose whether to continue fighting against a superior force that was encircling them step by step or to retreat.

SNA is the Turkish state

Tall Rifaat and Shehba were directly attacked by the Turkish state. The so-called "Syrian National Army" (SNA) is a structure created and completely controlled by the Turkish state. The SNA is taking action against the population. Where Kurds live, a democratic autonomous administration has been established and the other peoples also live there in equality, self-government and peace. No one is discriminated against because of their culture or religion. It is the most progressive region in the entire Middle East. The Turkish state carried out ethnic cleansing in the regions it occupied. Kurds were expelled. This criminal policy was implemented primarily by the SNA.

So-called "opposition" is a puppet of Turkey

The so-called opposition under the control of Turkey has no political identity of its own. The current attacks, including the attack on Aleppo, are supported and orchestrated by Turkey. The Astana process has absolutely nothing to do with the peoples of Syria. It is a game between states that leads to an intensification of the occupation of Syrian territory.

Pathological Kurdish hatred

The Turkish state and its media never refer to HTS or al-Nusra as "terrorists". Meanwhile, the organization is on the terror lists of the United Nations, the US and the EU. The Turkish state calls it the "Syrian opposition" and tries to give legitimacy to the jihadist group. Turkish president Erdoğan would not mind if all of Syria came under the control of HTS or ISIS. He never said that terror corridors will not be allowed on the border. But when it comes to Kurds, the word Kurds is not even used, instead they talk about "Terroristan" or a "terror corridor". In the past, border areas of Syria were under the control of ISIS. Erdoğan never said that this posed a danger. He doesn't say that today either, because in the minds of the AKP-MHP regime there is an almost pathological hatred of Kurds. In addition, Erdoğan's thinking is no different from that of ISIS, al-Nusra or other jihadist gangs. How else could he have nurtured and cared for al-Nusra, or the new name HTS, in Idlib for years?


SDF reports large-scale kidnapping campaign by Turkish-backed mercenaries in Shehba

Turkish-backed mercenaries detained over fifteen thousand civilians and abducted a large number of them in Shehba region, SDF reported.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 5 December 20243

The Press Office of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that Turkish-backed mercenaries have launched a large-scale kidnapping and enslavement campaign against civilians besieged in the Shehba region, north of Aleppo.

According to the SDF statement on Thursday, over 120 vehicles carrying hundreds of civilians, who were attempting to evacuate the areas in north and eastern Syria, were abducted and taken to an unknown destination near the Sheikh Najjar area. This action comes two days after these groups obstructed a previously agreed-upon civilian evacuation.

“Furthermore, with the aim of enslavement, these groups have detained over fifteen thousand civilians and abducted a large number of them. The besieged civilians are enduring harsh conditions, facing starvation and water shortages,” SDF stated.



More than a hundred thousand people migrated to Autonomous Administration regions in two days

The head of the Immigration Department, Şêxmûs Ehmed, said that more than a hundred thousand people have migrated to the Autonomous Administration regions in the last two days.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 5 December 2024


The head of the Immigration Department of the Autonomous Administration, Şêxmûs Ehmed, told ANHA that they have hosted many families who were forced to migrate from Aleppo and the Afrin-Shehba canton in the last two days.

Ehmed said that the number of displaced families in the application centers in Raqqa and Tabqa has exceeded 20 thousand, and added that the situation of the refugees is tragic.

Ehmed said: "Initially, we hosted the refugees in the cities of Raqqa and Tabqa, and temporarily placed them in schools in the city and the countryside. Due to the large number, we sent some of them to the Euphrates and Cizre cantons. The Crisis Desk allocated 235 centers, mostly schools, to migrants in Tabqa. In Raqqa, 60 centers were allocated to migrants. Each center hosts 40 families."

Ehmed added: "There needs to be coordination with the United Nations to establish special camps." Ehmed thanked the people of Northern and Eastern Syria for hosting the refugees and providing them with support.

Ehmed called on international organizations, the United Nations and the Security Council to open the Til Koçer border gate and called for a serious stance against the attacks of the occupying Turkish state.


Autonomous Administration warns of possible attack on Manbij

The representation of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria in Berlin warned of an impending attack on Manbij.



ANF
BERLIN
Wednesday, 4 December 2024,

The German representation of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria (AANES) warned in a statement of an impending offensive on Manbij. The statement said: "After Islamist militias conquered the city of Aleppo and other areas in northern Syria in recent days, troop movements by the pro-Turkish SNA indicate a possible attack on the city of Manbij."

Khaled Davrisch, representative of AANES in Germany said: "If Turkey attacks Manbij with its Islamist mercenaries, there is a risk of a massacre and the displacement of tens of thousands of people. The armed forces of the Autonomous Administration will exercise our right to self-defense and protect the civilian population. A relapse of Syria into the bloodiest days of the civil war must be prevented."

Manbij, a pluri-ethnic region

Manbij was liberated from the rule of the Islamic State in 2016. Shortly after the liberation, thousands of people returned to their homes. The inhabitants of the self-governing canton are predominantly Arab and Kurdish. Circassians, Turkmen, Armenians and Chechens also live there.

Ongoing occupation attacks in North-East Syria claim the life of a woman

The occupying Turkish state’s genocidal campaign against North and East Syria continue, claiming more lives every day.



ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 5 December 2024

The occupying Turkish state and affiliated gangs bombarded the villages of Um Jalûd, al-Sayada and al-Dendaniye in Manbij with mortars.

While the occupiers also bombed the villages of al-Jarad and Um Jalud in Manbij, 7 mortars landed on al-Jarad village and 17 mortars on Um Jalud village.

Til Torin village of Manbij was also shelled with howitzers.

The villages of Til Tûrîn and Farat west of Manbij was targeted by mortar attacks.

A woman named Nedîma El Hisên El Hemûd (45) living in Farat village was martyred, and a woman named Seîda El Ferec (45) was seriously injured during the attacks. The wounded woman was taken under treatment in a hospital in Manbij.

Civilians living in the Afrin and Shehba regions were forced to leave their lands due to the attacks of the invading Turkish state and allied gangs who started to loot and set fire to the houses of the displaced civilians.

On the other hand, occupation forces shelled the vicinity of the Qereqozaq Bridge in the south of Kobanê with howitzers. Qereqozaq Bridge, which connects the two sides of the Euphrates River, provides transportation between the Euphrates Canton and Manbij.



Despite attacks and threats of occupation, life goes on in Manbij

Turkish media are spreading rumours across all channels that the northern Syrian region of Manbij has been abandoned and that the military council has withdrawn. Turkey appears to be preparing a psychological attack through these false reports.



ANF
MANBIJ
Thursday, 5 December 2024, 


A new page in the history of the war in Syria was turned with the capture of Aleppo by the HTS, the successor to Al-Nusra, in an invasion orchestrated by Turkey. The HTS is now marching on Hama and Homs. Nevertheless, there are only occasional clashes between the jihadists and the Syrian army at the moment. Syria has once again become the scene of international struggles for distribution. The Turkish state is particularly targeting the city of Manbij. Manbij is considered an important centre near the Turkish border and on the Euphrates.

The multi-ethnic city was a strategic centre for ISIS. Manbij was used to smuggle jihadists, weapons and logistics into the country, while ISIS supplied Turkey with oil in return. After the liberation by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2016 in a large-scale offensive, the regional centre of ISIS’ reign of terror was transformed into a city characterised by democratic and multicultural coexistence. Step by step, the paradigm of women's liberation was also implemented in Manbij. The AKP/MHP regime in Ankara saw the defeat of ISIS in Manbij as its own defeat. While Ankara did nothing against ISIS in Manbij and even supported it with all its might, there has not been a moment in the eight years since the liberation when there were no attacks or threats from the Turkish state and its mercenaries. It is therefore only logical that the Turkish state is using the current situation to occupy Manbij as well, to destroy the autonomous administration and to expel the Kurdish population. Since the Aleppo invasion on 27 November, attacks on Manbij have intensified and expanded.

The Turkish state seems to want to repeat the invasion of Aleppo, during which the city was handed over to the jihadists without a fight, in Manbij. This attack is being prepared by intensive psychological warfare. The message is being spread that the city has been abandoned and that the military council of Manbij has retreated. However, the opposite is the case. The rumours are aimed at frightening people and causing them to flee the canton.

In particular, the Turkish state media spread such rumours with the help of their ‘correspondents’ stationed in occupied Jarablus. ANF has made recordings in Manbij that show the real situation in the city. The images clearly show that, contrary to the disinformation and threats of attack, life goes on. The streets and neighbourhoods are lively and the self-government and internal security forces are active, while the military council is taking over the external defence of the canton.

The military council of Manbij repeatedly responds directly to attempts by mercenaries loyal to Turkey to enter villages in the western part of the canton. In the last few days, more than ten attackers have been killed in skirmishes of this kind. Just yesterday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported that an attack on Manbij near Dêr Hafirê was repelled. Several jihadists were also killed or injured in the process. The SDF stated that the military councils of Manbij and Tabqa are on standby to defend the region against all attacks. Residents of Manbij told ANF that such attacks have been going on for eight years and that they have nevertheless built and organised their lives in the canton.

Nevertheless, the special war propaganda shows that Manbij is in the sights of the Turkish-jihadist invasion and that a possible major attack is imminent. Therefore, international solidarity with Manbij is especially important. Because moral and practical support is an important way to break through the psychological warfare and strengthen the resistance.

Displaced women of Shehba: We will continue to resist!

Internally displaced people from Shehba said that some of them have been forced to leave for the third time since the beginning of the Syrian war. Nevertheless, the women interviewed are determined to resist.


NÛJIYAN ADAR-OMER HORO
RAQQA
Thursday, 5 December 2024, 10:34


Internally displaced people from Shehba said that some of them have been forced to leave for the third time since the beginning of the Syrian war. Nevertheless, the women interviewed are determined to resist.

On 27 November, Aleppo was handed over to the jihadist HTS mercenaries almost without a fight. Resistance continues in the self-governing Kurdish districts. The Turkish-jihadist invasion subsequently spread to Tel Rifat (Tall Refaat) and Shehba. Countless people who had already had to flee the Turkish invasion of Afrin in 2018 have now been forced to flee again since 2 December. Thousands are arriving in the self-governing regions around Tabqa and Raqqa. They spoke to ANF about what they were going through.

Three times displaced

Fatma Naso has been displaced for the third time. She comes from Aleppo and fled to Afrin at the beginning of the Syrian crisis to escape the increasing attacks by HTS's predecessor organization, Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda Syria). In 2018, she was forced to flee from Afrin to Shehba to escape the invasion of the Turkish army and jihadist mercenaries.


On 2 December, she had to flee again. She said: "We have been fleeing since the beginning of the Syrian crisis. From Aleppo to Afrin, from Afrin to Shehba, we had to leave the country where we were born and grew up. Just when I thought we could finally breathe again, I now feel like I'm back at the beginning. It's easy to say the word escape, but only we know the pain we have suffered. Only we know what pain we had to endure on these journeys."

They wanted to commit a massacre in Shehba


Fadile Reşo comes from Mahmudiye in Afrin. After the invasion in 2018, she had to flee to Shehba. Now she is on the run for the second time. She said: "We had a stable situation in Afrin. We had a house, a piece of land and shops. Our situation was also very good. We had achieved all of this through our work, our effort and our sweat. But the people of Afrin, whether women, children or the elderly, were slaughtered by fighter planes. Our electricity and water were cut off, and we were left to starve. Then we were driven out to Shehba. With great effort, we turned Shehba into a paradise. We created something from nothing. Six years is not a short time. During this time we had painful and beautiful days. But just like in Afrin, people in Shehba could not bear the fact that we were leading a good life. There were fierce attacks, and civilians in particular were the target. The mercenaries wanted to commit a massacre. Now we are fleeing again. We are currently in Raqqa. Our family is scattered. Some are in Tabqa, some in Raqqa and some are still on the way. I have no news about some of them. What kind of cruelty is this? We are experiencing this injustice and this torture just because we are Kurds. Do Kurds have no right to live on their land? Will the Kurdish people be subjected to massacres and persecution again and again? There are children and the elderly here who are in danger of freezing to death because of the cold."

How long will the suffering continue?

Muh Derwîş is from Tall Refaat. She said: "The attacks by the invading troops did not stop. They attacked us wherever we were. They had come to massacre our people. From Shehba to Raqqa, there were mercenaries everywhere. They tried to scare us. We had to endure great suffering until we reached Raqqa. We didn't know what to do.

We could imagine what awaited us. It was not the first time we have been forced to leave, but we are also human. How much longer are we supposed to suffer? We experienced moments of fear and terror among the mercenaries until we finally reached safe areas. There were ill people and children among us. Maybe we could have protected ourselves, but we were worried about our ill people and children."



Gangs affiliated with Turkey block buses sent to take refugees in Afrin-Shehba Canton

Gangs affiliated with the Turkish state blocked buses sent to take the refugees who remained in the Afrin-Shehba Canton.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 5 December 2024

After the attacks carried out by the Turkish state and its gangs on Tall Rifaat and Shehba, the Afrin-Shehba People's Assembly decided to move the people to safe areas in order to prevent massacres. Following this decision, the Assembly began moving the people to the Autonomous Administration regions as of 2 December. So far, tens of thousands of refugees have moved to Tabqa and Raqqa. However, tens of thousands more are waiting in Shehba.

The Afrin-Shehba People's Assembly sent 50 buses to the Afrin-Shehba Canton on Wednesday to take more people to the Autonomous Administration regions. However, the jihadist groups linked to the Turkish state did not allow the buses to pass. As a result, the buses had to return to the Autonomous Administration regions.

In addition, the Barzani Institution and the jihadist groups are trying to take the people who remained in Shehba to other occupied regions. Sources reported that they presented themselves as people who were sent to get them from the Jazira region. The gangs go to the people in buses and try to take them to occupied Afrin while claiming that they will take them to safe places.


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