RT reports that, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Al-Qaeda-linked extremists hold 200 Kurdish civilians hostage as ‘live shield’ in Syria:
Civilians remain hostage after Syrian Kurds clashed with Al-Qaeda linked militants in the north-eastern Syrian towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, along the Syrian-Turkish border over the weekend.
“In these areas, there has long been confrontation between the troops of the international extremists affiliated with al-Qaeda and local Kurdish militias who stood up to protect their homes from attacks by radical Islamists,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on its website.
Syrian Kurd fighters captured a rebel leader, or emir, identified as Abu Musab. In response, Al-Qaeda extremists abducted 500 civilians, including woman and children.
“They started to kill innocent people by cutting off their heads,” the statement read. “Kurds had to free Abu Musab in exchange for an agreement to release hostages.”
Despite the Kurdish fighters agreed to release Abu Musab in exchange for people, about 200 people are still in the hands of extremists. The commander was freed as agreed.
The Kurdish gunmen have been fighting to expel al-Qaeda militants from the northeastern province of Hassakeh over the past week, with the battle significantly intensifying over the weekend.
The clashes between the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jahbat al-Nusra erupted in the city of Ras al-Ain in the northern province of Hasakeh on July 16, when at least four militants were killed.
The Kurds issued a “victory message,” celebrating the “liberation” of Ras al-Ain, claiming to hold control over the entire city as well as the headquarters of the Islamist combatant groups there.
On Saturday evening, the fighting spread to the city of Tal Abyad.
“Moscow strongly condemns the atrocities of international terrorists in northeastern Syria and the excesses and abuses perpetrated by extremists against a peaceful Kurdish population which is not involved in the ongoing political and military conflict in Syria,” the Ministry said.
The city of Ras al-Ain is home to some 50,000 people including a mix of Kurds, Arabs, Christians, and Yezidis – a Kurdish religious minority.
London-based RT contributor Afshin Rattansi says Western powers supporting organizations like al-Qaeda-linked Jahbat al-Nusra are to be blamed for the situation in northern Syria.
“There has been a discrimination of Kurds in that region, but now we have a situation where the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Britain are actively supporting al-Qaeda-linked organizations that are ransacking and murdering women and children – certainly over the past 48 hours,” he said. “All we are hearing from London and Washington are talks about a no-fly zone and arming the very people who are killing women and children there. And from Turkey, certainly the Turkish right wing has brought ideas of invading Syria from the north to kill more Kurdish people.”
Rattansi says the UN Security Council (UNSC) should look closely at the situation there. “Russia and China should bring this up at the UNSC. Otherwise, the prospect for these 200 hostages is pretty grim,” he said.
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Commentary:
I have to admit that I am rather confused about the role the Kurds play in this struggle. To me it has always been self-evident that the Kurds cannot fight everybody everywhere and that they should enter into a strategic partnership with a major regional power (and no, I don’t mean Israel). Likewise, it is rather obvious to me that the natural allies of the Kurds would be Iran and the Iraqi Shia, provided the Kurds did not insist on secession from these countries. Instead it appears that most Kurdish politicians are quietly negotiating with the US and Israel even though the latter clearly are the most unreliable allies imaginable. Finally, it seems rather self-evident to me that Islamists a la al-Qaeda are an intolerable threat to the Kurds, one which they should engage with everything they have, yet it was Hezbollah who came to help the Syrian government while the Kurds only seem to take action when they are directly threatened.
I would be deeply grateful to any Kurdish reader who would help me to make sense of a stance which, frankly, looks totally nearsighted and self-defeating to me.
Many thanks in advance, kind regards,
The Saker
If I were Assad I would consider granting the Kurds autonomy in exchange for their support.
@Robert: absolutely, me too, without any hesitation at all. Alas, my feeling is that the Kurds will never enter into an alliance with anybody the US/Israel considers a “bad guy” such as Syria or, even less so, Iran.
Kurds are representing “the third way” meaning we are not with Assad or with the so called opposition. Assad bombs Kurds (happened recent a few times) when he feels like it. In fact YPG units were bombed during their fights with A-Nusra because they were pressing hard (Assad wants the conflict between them to linger).
Kurds are talking to Russia, China, and Iran. No deal with the US simpl because of Turkey. Kurds have to talk to any power that can provide to with weapons. More so now that turkey is saber rattling and training these AQ thugs on use of heavy weaponry.
At this time Kurds cannot worry about who is the good or bad guy but however can help them stay alive. They didn’t let these AQ thugs use their territory despite the immense pressure from the west. This has not been the first clash. Though it has been the largest and the most intense. Google and see how many articles you will find (still going on) that will blame PYD or YPG working with Assad.
Kurds cannot keep fighting for others. A reminder: Kurds did fight alongside Palestinians long time ago and have still been paying for it. It is time we consider our own interest as a people. The main problem right now is that there is not one reliable ally for Kurds. It wasn’t long ago Iran was conducting joint military operations with Turkey against Kurds. We can’t afford another Mahabat, another Halabja, another Zilan, or another Dersim.
Z
“Likewise, it is rather obvious to me that the natural allies of the Kurds would be Iran and the Iraqi Shia, provided the Kurds did not insist on secession from these countries. Instead it appears that most Kurdish politicians are quietly negotiating with the US and Israel even though the latter clearly are the most unreliable allies imaginable.“
I don’t think the Kurds would ever align themselves with Iran given the support and training in Northern Iraq they had received from Israel and the west during the 90’s and Iranian intelligence assassination attacks against Kurdish separatists in the 80’s.
There was an alliance at one point between Iran, Turkey and Syria prior to the Syrian conflict mainly due to the issue of tackling and undermining Kurdish separatists and non-Zionist elements in the US and Europe like Zbignew Brzezinski who want to make alternative Caspian pipeline routes to Europe that bypass Russia viable especially Nabucco that is only viable with Iranian support. The Iraq war was to secure Israel’s long term interests in this regards.
Not oil or a staging ground to attack Iran, petrol dollar or any other theory.
Jack, the “Kurdish separatists” you talk about actually have given up on seceding long time ago but they want some type if a confederal system in which they could live without oppression, the MSM won’t give up on the “separatist” to legitimize human rights abuses and savagery committed b the states who can oppress Kurds.
On anther note, AQ and rest of FSA commanders had a meeting today in Gaziantep (Dilok). They seem to be determined on vanquishing the desires for Kurds to govern their internal affairs. We shall see what happens.
Anonymous said…
Given the covert support given by Turkey to the anti-Assad rebels they could use the cover of the war to ethnically cleanse the Kurds like what was done against the Serbs in the Balkans.