War criminal Turkey has been taking advantage of the jihadist victory in Syria to intensify an anti-Kurdish campaign of terror in the north of the country. Ten years ago, in 2014, NATO’s second-biggest army looked on from across the border as Daesh (Isis/Isil) terrorists advanced on the largely-Kurdish city of Kobanî.
The resistance of left-wing revolutionaries, however, attracted the world’s attention, forcing it to offer limited strategic support. They eventually defeated Daesh in Kobanî, and across the north of Syria. But now, Turkey is looking to finish off the job Daesh couldn’t.
Turkey’s engineering of “a humanitarian disaster” in Syria
Turkish-led mercenaries have been advancing their occupation in the north of Syria amid the collapse of the Assad regime. And as the Kurdish Red Crescent said on 9 December, “a humanitarian disaster is escalating in northern Syria” as a result. The group explained that:
In just two weeks, more than 120,000 people have been displaced from the Shahba (Til Rifat) to northern Syria.
Doctors Without Borders is currently “providing critical aid to tens of thousands of displaced people” who have fled to “the areas of Tabqa, Raqqa and Hassakeh”. The co-chair of the Kurdish-led administration’s health committee for the Shahba area, Alia Mohamed, spoke to the Canary about the refugee situation in northern Syria as a result of the expansion of Turkish-led occupation. Speaking from Tabqa, she told us that:
Following the displacement from the Sheba regions, the situation in Tabqa is dire. The lack of adequate shelter is a significant concern, with many individuals resorting to sleeping in the open. The prevailing circumstances are severely challenging, particularly for children who are among the most vulnerable. The lack of access to essential resources, including medicine and food, further exacerbates the situation.
And it seems Turkey’s anti-Kurdish offensive is just getting started.
Turkey-led mercenaries advance on Kobanî in northern Syria
“Turkish proxies, with support from Turkish airstrikes”, wrote journalist Amberin Zaman on 10 December, “advanced today toward the town of Kobani“. As she explained:
Kobani emerged as a symbol of Kurdish resistance when the town was besieged by ISIS in 2014 and Erdogan appeared to cheer them on, saying “Kobani is falling.” His perceived support for the jihadis provoked bloody riots inside Turkey, accelerating the collapse of peace talks between the government and the PKK and a ceasefire with the militants that formally ended in July 2015.
In short, the victory of Kurdish-led revolutionaries in Kobanî pushed the autocratic Turkish regime to end peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The NATO superpower had long repressed its domestic Kurdish population. And seeing that there was new momentum for the cause of Kurdish freedom, Turkey opted to restart its anti-Kurdish war.
Kobane has no strategic value, no economic resources, a very small population.
Before the war, many Kurds hadn’t even heard of it, let alone Turks, Syrians or Westerners.
Turkey only wants this city because it did not fall to ISIS in 2014, despite Erdogan’s best efforts. pic.twitter.com/D7nvPeBErS
— Meghan Bodette (@_____mjb) December 10, 2024
My heart is with all my friends in Kobane and Rojava right now. These people have given so much to humanity. They deserve peace and freedom. pic.twitter.com/6cBTmUUGx8
— Meghan Bodette (@_____mjb) December 10, 2024
Turkey has increased its attacks on the left-wing, Kurdish-led Rojava revolution in northern Syria ever since international attention waned after Daesh’s defeat in 2017. For years, it has subjected the multi-ethnic but largely-Kurdish communities of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to a humanitarian crisis, with a campaign of regular attacks, ethnic cleansing, and illegal occupation.
Kurdish-led defence forces were among the “most effective” ground forces in the battle against Daesh. And they have been protecting the formation of a democratic, co-operative system; one that is secular, feminist, multi-ethnic, and which opposes all religious discrimination. But US and UK governments simply piggybacked on their bravery to claim victory over Daesh before then repeatedly throwing them to the Turkish wolves.
Turkish ethnic cleansing campaign kills ’31 civilians in 48 hours’
As the Rojava Information Center reported on 10 December, Turkish-led forces killed “at least 31 civilians” in just 48 hours. Having invaded and occupied the city of Manbij, which local self-defence forces had liberated from Daesh in 2016, the Turkish proxies have sought to advance on Kobane.
The important Tishreen Dam has also come “under heavy attack”, and is now out of service due to shelling by Turkish proxies. According to the Northeast Syria NGO Forum:
Damages sustained to the infrastructure itself could lead to the loss of lives and livelihoods of up to one million people in the downstream subdistricts should the dam collapse.
A Turkish drone also reportedly:
targeted an ambulance belonging to Kobani Hospital, near Tishreen Dam, while it was transporting wounded people, which led to the death of the ambulance driver and one of the wounded, and the injury of a nurse and another person.
Rojava Information Center also noted:
Field executions of wounded individuals in a hospital by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) caught on camera, alongside other atrocities
In the early days of the latest Turkish-led attacks in Syria, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) – “a political assembly representing political parties and organizations in North and East Syria” – urged:
the international community to take swift action to protect all Syrian civilians from the imminent threat posed by Turkish-backed groups, which have previously committed war crimes, genocide, and forced displacement.
It warned that Daesh could exploit the situation, and emphasised “its openness to engage in dialogue with Turkey, rejecting all pretexts used to justify further occupation of Syrian territory”.
It has also pledged “to continue working to establish a democratic and pluralistic state that guarantees equality, justice, and respect for diverse components of the Syrian society”. But it has highlighted “the necessity of addressing… the expansionist plans of Turkey”.
Who wants peace? Who wants war?
Turkey is clearly the belligerent in northern Syria. It seems to be making the most of the international community’s clear inability to prevent war crimes (see the Gaza genocide) to bully Syrian people into submission. It aims to destroy the only good thing to come out of Syria’s war – the democratic, cooperative, ecological, gender-egalitarian Rojava Revolution.
In Britain, genocide apologist prime minister Keir Starmer has just claimed the UK is “protecting the most vulnerable in Syria” and aiming to “support stability”. But that’s clearly bullshit. Because vulnerable people are suffering right now and, yet again, Starmer’s inaction shows he’s siding with a powerful war criminal ally instead.
Turkey needs to be stopped. And again, in the absence of government action, the responsibility falls on people around the world to spread the message and take action.
Featured image via the Canary
