The plan in Rojava: Elimination of Kurds

2024-12-07 10:35:47


	 

	Rozerin Gültekin

	 

	ISTANBUL - Middle East expert Hamide Rencüzoğulları said, "What is wanted to be done in Rojava is to liquidate the Kurds who paid the price and to Barzanise the region."
	 
	Since 26 November, Turkey and the paramilitary groups and gangs it supports have been carrying out intensive attacks against Northern and Eastern Syria and Syria's second largest city Halep. 

	 

	While these attacks targeted the lives of civilians in the region, many people, including women, children, youth and the elderly, lost their lives in the operations led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Especially the targeting of civilian areas seriously threatens the security of the people of the region, while the dimensions of the attacks are gradually increasing. 

	 
	Middle East expert Hamide Rencüzoğulları, who made evaluations on the subject, drew attention to the humanitarian and political dimensions of the attacks. 

	
	‘Jihadists armed by external actors’

	Hamide Rencüzoğulları stated that Syria is no longer a civil war, but a growing war in which many countries are involved, and that an environment of instability has prevailed for 14 years. Hamide Rencüzoğulları said: "The groups gathering in Idlib are actually the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which aims to establish its own Islamic State and is composed of former Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda members and ISIS remnants. It is clear that the vast majority of the jihadist fighters within HTS are not Syrian, but recruited from outside. In other words, the Syrian people are besieged by foreign jihadists who have been recruited through external dynamics. The Islamic emirate in Idlib was inactive for a while. The main reason for this was the guarantees given by Turkey. At the Astana meetings and the Sochi agreements, Turkey recognised a line completely encircling Idlib as a ‘de-escalation zone’, made a commitment to this effect and undertook not to escalate tensions in the region. However, Turkey has not honoured this commitment. In time, the jihadists in the region were rearmed with the support of external actors and invaded Halep in a sudden and unprepared attack.

	 

	 

	Halep and eastern Halep subjected to jihadist invasion
	 
	If we say only the groups in the Islamic Emirate, it may seem as if Turkey has no involvement, but this is not the case. The Syrian National Army, which was established by Turkey, simultaneously attacked together with HTS. This was a development that can be called a proof of Turkey's involvement in the attack. The pro-Turkish Syrian National Army members attacked Halep from the east and north-east, while HTS entered from the west. Halep was safe according to the agreements. Therefore, faced with a very unprepared and intense attack, the army withdrew and the people there were left defenceless. Halep fell in a very short time. Then YPG forces arrived. YPG forces joined the resistance alongside the people in some neighbourhoods. There were places where they had to withdraw. In other words, as a result, Halep and its east, Tel Rıfat and Minbic were subjected to this jihadist invasion."

	 

	One of the objectives of the war: To cut the supply line
	 
	Hamide Rencüzoğulları said, "These attacks were expected to come, but I can say that “Russia's complacency misled Damascus”. Because Russia is the state that takes Turkey as an interlocutor. There is no direct dialogue between Damascus and Ankara; Russia is the mediator, and Russia trusted Erdoğan's signature and commitments. It is clearly a war with the strategy of seizing strategic heights and drawing a line towards Lebanon. It aims to advance by occupying the M5 motorway and the strategic lines south of it, while keeping the state of Damascus and its allies busy in Halep. The eastern countryside of Hama, the eastern countryside of Homs, the eastern countryside of Damascus and the western countryside of Latakia, as well as the Ikman line to the Lebanese border, are among the objectives. 

	 

	This war, launched with this huge jihadist front and the pro-Turkish army, is a war between the USA and Israel, but Turkey is a party to it. Israel has acted with a very planned and really pre-prepared strategy. It started the attempt to invade Lebanon. Hezbollah had to withdraw all its forces to defend South Lebanon. Once this vacuum was created, a ceasefire was signed and Israel mobilised these jihadists. Assad's unplanned visit to Moscow was followed by a visit to Damascus by the Iranian Foreign Minister, and then a visit to Ankara. As a result of this shuttle diplomacy, it can be said very clearly that serious warnings were given to Turkey."

	 

	'How did HTS acquire modern technology weapons?'
	 
	Evaluating the portrayal of HTS as opposition forces by the partisan press, Hamide Rencüzoğulları pointed out that ISIS was also presented as rebels in 2011. Hamide Rencüzoğulları said, ‘When ISIS first entered Syrian territory, they were characterised as regime opponents and rebels. The discourse of the media in Turkey is also very interesting. It is obvious that this is a tactic that was obviously worked on long ago. It is obvious from the following: The AKP media either forgot or suddenly covered up the fact that ISIS was declared a terrorist organisation by presidential decree in 2018. And no one asked: ‘Weren't we calling it a terrorist organisation? Again, the discourse switched from ‘Assad to Assad’ and then back to ‘regime.'

	 

	

	 

	Not all members of ISIL died after its disintegration. Except for those ISIS members who returned to their countries after the disintegration, the rest of them joined Al-Nusra Front. Then they took the name HTS. As a result, there is no harm in calling HTS ISIS. It is also important to underline how much HTS has been strengthened. How did HTS acquire modern technological weapons in an Islamic emirate surrounded by Turkey, where the Turkish Armed Forces have established observation posts? How did the drones arrive? How did it receive drone training? It has been revealed through documents that the UK and Ukraine were involved in this process. The UK provided drones and unmanned aerial vehicles, and Ukrainian officers provided training on their use. All this has been revealed."

	 

	 The principle of ‘Syrians decide the fate of Syria’

	 
	Referring to the gangs in Afrin, Hamide Rencüzoğulları said: "There are jihadists evacuated from dozens of fronts in Afrin. Jihadists have settled in the place of Kurds.”  Hamide Rencüzoğulları said, "What the YPG did is something we appreciate very much; they said “we will not leave the people alone”. However, in Halep, which is under a very intense attack, it is quite normal that an unsupported YPG cannot stand against these attacks. There were withdrawals. However, we also watched their insistence on opening at least a corridor for civilians. The US and Turkey are in an alliance over the Kurds, but this alliance wants Kurds to be brought into line. From the beginning, Turkey has demanded allied Kurds like the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq, similar to the KDP. This situation has been desired since the Salih Muslim era. At that time, the negotiations with Salih Muslim were also in this direction. However, the PYD's position is clear: ‘We will not fight with the jihadists against Damascus, and we will not fight with Damascus against your militants’.
	
	 If the principle of ‘Syrians determine the fate of Syria’ is adhered to, all democratic gains, including the constitution, can be achieved. We are now perhaps in the final battle. According to my estimation, the jihadists will be squeezed very seriously in Idlib, and I think that Turkey will be told, ‘If you do not withdraw the jihadists in Aleppo, we will drive those in Idlib to Turkey. ’ If the Idlib issue is resolved, the city of Aleppo will be saved."