Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

[Anthea]

Convoy of U.S.military
vehicles enters Syria

A convoy of U.S. military armored vehicles has been spotting entering Syria, in the latest sign that President Donald Trump's vow to pull out of the country will prove complicated to see through



The convoy some dozen armored vehicles displaying the American flag was spotted on Saturday near the town of Qamishli, in an oil-rich region on Syria's northern border with Turkey.

A U.S. defense official official said that the Pentagon has begun reinforcing positions in Deir Ezzor province with extra military assets in coordination with Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The aim was to prevent the Islamic State group and other actors from gaining access to oil fields in an area of Syria that was once under jihadist control, he said, declining to elaborate.

U.S. military convoy drives the town of Qamishli, north Syria, by a poster showing Syrain President Bashar Aassad Saturday

A U.S. convoy of over a dozen vehicles was spotted driving south of the northeastern city of Qamishli, likely heading to the oil-rich Deir el-Zour area where there are oil fields, or possibly to another base nearby

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, also reported the convoy, saying it arrived earlier from Iraq

A U.S. defense official official said that the Pentagon has begun reinforcing positions in Deir Ezzor province with extra military assets in coordination with Kurdish fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces

The convoy crossed into Syria from Iraq, heading to Hassakeh province, according to an AFP correspondent.

It passed regime checkpoints and drove through the city of Qamishli, de facto capital of Washington's Kurdish allies, the correspondent said.

Some 200 US troops are already stationed in Deir Ezzor but President Donald Trump this month ordered an American pullout from Syria's northern border.

Trump last week said a "small number" of US troops would stay to secure the oil, changing the rationale for his country's involvement in the war.

Russia responded on Saturday by accusing the United States of "international banditry."

"What Washington is currently doing -- seizing and placing under control the oil fields of eastern Syria -- is simply international banditry," Russia's defence ministry said.

It said Syria's oil resources did not belong to IS and "even less to US defenders against Islamic State terrorists, but exclusively to the Syrian Arab Republic".

The aim was to prevent the Islamic State group and other actors from gaining access to oil fields in an area of Syria that was once under jihadist control, according to a US defense official

It comes a day after Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the United States would send armored vehicles and combat troops into eastern Syria to keep oil fields from potentially falling into the hands of Islamic State militants

Esper described the added force as 'mechanized,' which means it likely will include armored vehicles such as Bradley armored infantry carriers and possibly tanks, although details were still be worked out.

This reinforcement would introduce a new dimension to the U.S. military presence , which largely has been comprised of special operations forces not equipped with tanks or other armored vehicles.

Esper spoke at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, where he consulted with American allies.

Sending an armored force to eastern Syria partially reversed the ongoing shrinkage of the U.S. troop presence in Syria.

Trump has ordered the withdrawal of nearly all 1,000 U.S. troops who had been partnering with a Syrian Kurdish-led militia against the Islamic State group. That withdrawal is proceeding even as Esper announced the plan to put reinforcements in the oil-producing area.

Speaking to reporters Friday at the White House, Trump said the U.S.-brokered agreement with Turkey to halt its offensive against U.S.-supporting Syrian Kurdish fighters was a win for his administration. That offensive began after Trump announced U.S. troops would not stand in the way, though he also said the U.S. would punish Turkey's economy if the country acted inhumanely.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper acknowledged in Brussels that the U.S. will be sending forces back into Syria

He also said anew on Friday that 'we're getting our troops out' of Syria, without mentioning Esper's announcement.

'We are doing well in Syria, with Turkey and everybody else that we're dealing with,' Trump said. 'We have secured the oil. ... We have a couple of people that came knocking, we said don't knock. And I think I would say that things are going very well.'

White House officials would not clarify whom he was referring to as 'knocking.'

The U.S. special envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, said in Geneva on Friday he had talked to a Russian official about an unspecified issue in Syria's oil region.

'We are currently very concerned about certain developments in the south, in the Deir el-Zour area,' Jeffrey said. 'I've talked to my Russian colleague about that and we're having other contacts with the Russians concerning that situation. We think it is under control now.'

Although Esper did not mention the size of the U.S. reinforcements, it could total several hundred troops because fuel-guzzling tanks and other armored vehicles depend on a large supply and logistical support group. One official, who discussed the planning on condition of anonymity because some details remained to be agreed, cautioned that tanks might eventually be eliminated from the mix because of logistical challenges, including air transport.

Russian and Turkish leaders have now divided up security roles in northeast Syria following Trump's abrupt troop withdrawal from the Turkey-Syrian border region. The American move triggered widespread criticism that the U.S. administration had abandoned the Syrian Kurdish fighters who fought alongside the U.S. against IS for several years.

Esper's announcement came even as Trump again indicated in tweets that the U.S. military mission in Syria is complete. He previously has acknowledged a willingness to help protect the oil fields in eastern Syria, suggesting they could benefit the Kurds as well as the United States, although those resources belong to the Syrian government.

'Oil is secured,' Trump tweeted Friday. 'Our soldiers have left and are leaving Syria for other places, then.... COMING HOME! ... When these pundit fools who have called the Middle East wrong for 20 years ask what we are getting out of the deal, I simply say, THE OIL, AND WE ARE BRINGING OUR SOLDIERS BACK HOME, ISIS SECURED!'

Asked about America's shifting Syria strategy, Esper said the U.S. mission has always been to prevent the resurgence of IS. 'That mission remains unchanged,' he said.

But Esper said at NATO that the U.S. is 'considering how we might reposition forces in the area in order to ensure we secure the oil field.' He added: 'We are reinforcing that position. It will include some mechanized forces.'

He made clear the main purpose is to prevent IS from regaining access to Syrian oil, which prior to 2017 was a major source of its revenue.

A member of Asayish, or the Internal Security Forces, makes a selfie by an Russian military vehicle during a patrol near Syrian and Turkish border in north Syria, on Friday

Starting in late 2015 and continuing for many months, the U.S. conducted airstrikes against a range of oil resources in the Deir el-Zour province that had been taken over by ISIS. The attacks damaged or knocked out oil tanker convoys, oil processing plants, storage facilities, pumping stations, pipelines and refineries. It was called Operation Tidal Wave II, after a World War II air campaign to hit Romania's oil industry.

Esper said ISIS must not be allowed to again threaten the oil.

'If ISIS has access to the resources, and therefore the means to procure arms or to buy fighters or whatever else they do, then it means it makes it more difficult to defeat ISIS,' he said.

Just last week, Trump insisted that all American forces in Syria would come home. Then he said the 1,000 in the north would return home and that American troops in the south, numbering about 200 at the Al-Tanf garrison in the south, would stay.

Trump in the past days has turned a greater focus on the Syrian oil facilities in the eastern part of the country, saying U.S. will stay in Syria to protect them.

According to officials, top military leaders have pushed for the U.S. to leave forces in Syria to guard against an IS resurgence. While the group's physical zone of control was largely destroyed by U.S. and Syrian Kurdish forces, insurgents remain in small pockets throughout the country and in Iraq.

Link to Article - Photos:

posting.php?mode=reply&f=3&t=18362

[Anthea]

The world has closed its eyes on us

On our way to Qamishli, the largest Kurdish city in northern Syria, we see a US military convoy escorted by fighter jets heading east towards the Iraqi border. They are leaving the Kurdish region

The first time I saw an American in Syria was in 2016. He was part of US special forces, sent to support the Kurds fighting the Islamic State (IS) group. Locals were excited to see them arriving.

But it was in stark contrast this time around. Now you could see the fear and anxiety in the faces of onlookers.

We were only a few kilometres from the Turkish border as one of the jets circled overhead, leaving a trail of white smoke as it passed in and out of Turkish airspace.

One of our guides sighed. "Trump bi namoose," he said to me in Kurdish. "Trump has no honour."

Trump on Syria: "Let someone else fight over this long, blood-stained sand."

The Kurds have every reason to be worried. On one side they face neighbouring Turkey, and on the other side, Syrian government forces.

Now the US is leaving, Kurds here are convinced they have no friends other than the mountains they inhabit in this region.

'Trump sold us'

From the moment we arrived in Qamishli, ordinary Kurds from baker to waiter asked "why did Trump sell us out?" This is a traditional society that prides itself on a code of honour and do not understand why they have effectively been cut loose.

"America stabbed us in the back... Trump sold us... we were betrayed," we heard said, again and again.

Qamishli 's squares and electricity poles are decorated with the pictures of the fallen - men and women killed in the war against IS.

Every day there are funerals somewhere in this tiny region. It has been this way since IS attacked the Kurds in 2014. But now the victims are those who have been killed since Turkish and allied forces launched their cross-border attack earlier this month.

At the funerals, many mourners hide their tears. Instead they lead the caskets to graveyards with dances and chants.

At one such ceremony, for a fallen fighter of the Kurdish YPG, a tall man in his 60s approaches me and calmly says: "Erdogan doesn't like the Kurds. He wants us to leave," referring to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip, who regards the YPG as terrorists.

The Kurds lost 11,000 men and women battling against IS. "The fight wasn't ours only, we fought on behalf of humanity," the man says. "Where is the international community, why don't they stop Erdogan?"

'What's the point?'

In a bakery sits a pile of bread, baked for fighters on the front line. Bahouz, a 16-year-old boy who is cutting dough, asks me my opinion of Americans and Europeans.

"Do you think they will stop Erdogan from massacring us?" An older boy shouts: "Trump sold us - oil is more important than our lives."

The young boys are clearly frightened. They know if the pro-Turkish Islamist militias arrive here, they would be the prime target. Already videos have emerged apparently showing Turkish-backed militias shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") and shooting handcuffed young men just like them.

At a hospital treating wounded YPG fighters, a doctor, Rojda, runs from one operating theatre to another. Rojda, a petite woman in her 30s, is also the director of the facility.

"What's the point of filming?" she asks wearily. "Don't waste your time. The world has closed its eyes on us."

One of the patients I meet there is 23-year-old Jiyan. She sits on her bed, staring into the distance. There are dark circles around her eyes. Her head has been surgically pinned, her skull fractured and a hand and both legs are injured.

She laughs derisorily. "I survived fighting IS in Kobane, Manbij, and Raqqa, but it was the Turks who almost killed me!"

Jiyan was in Ras al-Ain when Turkey attacked the border town. Her unit came under extensive Turkish artillery and bombardment.

"We put up a good fight against Turkish-backed thugs, but we couldn't match Turkish firepower," she tells me, adding: "I lost many friends."

'They are coming for us'

On our way out of Syria, I meet Kino Gabriel, spokesperson for the SDF, the Kurdish-led alliance of militias.

A tall man with green eyes and a big smile, he is the founder of the Christian Syriac Military Council, part of the SDF. He avoids criticising President Trump, hoping, it seems, that the US will change course and come back to the SDF's aid.

"Those jihadists backed by Turkey are not only coming for our land, they see us as infidels, they are coming for us," he says.

As US troops withdrew from Qamishli last week on Donald Trump's orders, one picture in particular - of a US soldier in his armoured vehicle wearing YPJ (the Kurdish women's fighting force) insignia on his sleeve - resonated with the Kurdish allies they were leaving in haste.

"The American soldiers are just like us - shocked and disappointed with this political decision," Kino Gabriel says. "But it is not their fault. We honour their sacrifices too."

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-50181855

[Anthea]

Another Syria ‘fairy tale’:

Lee Camp marvels as media re-brands US-backed ‘moderate rebels’ as Turkey-aligned militants

US-backed “moderate rebels” have been re-branded as barbarians now that they are leading Turkey’s assault on Kurdish militias in Syria. The narrative change exposes the media’s own fairy tales about Syria, Lee Camp said.

As the host of Redacted Tonight noted, “We birthed the vast majority of these gruesome killers” now fighting the Kurds in northern Syria – an inconvenient reality that conflicts with the media’s new narrative.

Moderate rebels are a myth that we’ve been sold by our US propaganda machine… our neocons and neoliberals, along with a servile corporate media, have spent years trying to convince us of fairy tales in Syria.

https://www.rt.com/news/471953-syria-mo ... els-media/

[Anthea]

Kurdish YPG:

Islamic State spokesman killed in Syria

The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Sunday that Islamic State spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir was killed in a joint raid between Kurdish-led and U.S. forces in northern Syria.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which the YPG leads, said he was targeted near Syria’s border town of Jarablus through efforts between SDF intelligence and the U.S. military.

SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi said it was “a continuation of the previous operation” in which Islamic State’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed and described the jihadist spokesman as Baghdadi’s right-hand man.

https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast ... P?rpc=401&

[Anthea]

Bernie Acknowledges al-Baghdadi Raid

'Kurds and Other U.S. Allies' for al-Baghdadi Raid

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Sunday acknowledged the “Kurds and other U.S. allies” following President Trump’s announcement of ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death, but did not mention President Trump’s role – or that of U.S. forces, specifically – in his initial remark.

Trump addressed the nation on Sunday and formally announced the death of al-Baghdadi, who died as a result of a raid conducted by U.S. special forces.

“Last night the United States brought the world’s number one terrorist leader to justice, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead,” Trump said. “He was the founder and leader of ISIS, the most ruthless and violent terror organization anywhere in the world.”

Sanders remarked on the massive development but failed to mention the president’s role – or that of U.S. forces, specifically – in his initial statement, acknowledging the “Kurds and other U.S. allies” instead.

“Abu Bakr al Baghdadi was a murderer and terrorist responsible for terrible suffering and death. The fight against ISIS would not be possible without the brave efforts of the Kurds and other U.S. allies,” Sanders tweeted:

Abu Bakr al Baghdadi was a murderer and terrorist responsible for terrible suffering and death. The fight against ISIS would not be possible without the brave efforts of the Kurds and other U.S. allies.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 27, 2019

Trump, in his statement on Sunday, detailed the raid led by U.S. Special Operations forces, who “accomplished their mission in grand style.”

“Capturing or killing Baghdadi has been the top national security priority of my administration. U.S. Special Operations forces executed a dangerous and daring nighttime raid in northwestern Syria and accomplished their mission in grand style,” Trump said.

According to Trump, the terrorist leader reportedly detonated his suicide vest after being cornered by U.S. forces.

Trump said:

The U.S. personnel were incredible. I got to watch much of it. No personnel were lost in the operation, while a large number of Baghdadi’s fighters and companions were killed with him. He died after running into a dead-end tunnel, whimpering and crying and screaming all the way. The compound had been cleared by this time, with people either surrendering or being shot and killed.

Eleven young children were moved out of the house uninjured. The only ones remaining were Baghdadi in the tunnel, and he had dragged three of his young children with him. They were led to certain death. He reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down. He ignited his vest, killing himself and the three children. His body was mutilated by the blast, the tunnel had caved in on it in addition, but test results gave certain, immediate and totally positive identification it was him.

The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread — terrified of the American forces bearing down on him. We were in the compound for approximately two hours, and after the mission was accomplished, we took highly sensitive material and information from the raid, much having to do with ISIS, origins, future plans, things that we very much want.

Like Sanders, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro (D) did not mention Trump in his congratulatory statement on al-Baghdadi’s death. However, he acknowledged and praised the courage and dedication of “our military and intelligence community”:

A ruthless murderer has been brought to justice. I’m grateful to our military and intelligence community. Their courage and dedication inspire us all.

Abandoning our Syrian and Kurdish partners remains a disastrous decision that will make the fight against ISIS harder.

— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) October 27, 2019

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) also congratulated U.S. special forces, the intelligence community, and “all our brave military professionals on delivering justice to the terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi” but also made no mention of Trump:

I congratulate our special forces, our intelligence community, and all our brave military professionals on delivering justice to the terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The world is better and safer without him in it. pic.twitter.com/miLSVWBT9l

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 27, 2019

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019 ... ces-trump/

[Anthea]

How US gunships cornered
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

It was shortly after midnight in the remote village of Barisha that residents heard a familiar noise coming from above

The whir of rotor blades in the darkness signalled something was coming, something military – which, in these parts, usually brings death.

Sure enough, within minutes the sound of bullets piercing the air followed.

But this was no usual firefight, with those brandishing automatic weapons on the ground severely outgunned by an enemy they had not been expecting.

For the footsoldiers still loyal to the Islamic State terror group were caught by surprise by the crack American team descending upon their high-profile prize – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world's most wanted man.

Five years after he had launched his self-styled 'caliphate', and brought a new wave of terror to the globe, the net was finally closing on the ISIS leader.

For the footsoldiers still loyal to the Islamic State terror group were caught by surprise by the crack American team descending upon their high-profile prize – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world's most wanted man

Caliphate leader: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi detonated his own suicide vest during the targeted raid on his lair in Syria's Idlib province and killed three of his children in the blast. He is shown in a still from a video released in April, having not been seen since he spoke at the Grand Mosque in Mosul in 2014

The helicopters targeted a home and a car on the outskirts of Barisha, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, after US media said IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was believed to be dead following a US military raid in the same province

The live feed of the assault is understood to have been played to those in the White House 'as though watching a movie' according to President Trump

Capture or kill

Being played on a live feed to those back in the White House, 'as though watching a movie', according to President Donald Trump, the helicopter gunships circled, taking small arms fire but delivering their far more devastating riposte.

Some hovered in the air, laying down a cover of fire underneath which a crack team of elite Delta Force commandos and Rangers could slip to the floor safely, landing outside Baghdadi's compound on the edge of the village.

Armed with highly-trained dogs and a robot to withstand suicide attacks, the 70-strong team was ready for a bloodbath.

Capture or kill ... either option had been authorised.

After playing a round of golf earlier, Mr Trump had returned to the White House, settling in the Situation Room alongside his top generals and security officials.

Rubble and craters litter the site where the US strikes took place and which reportedly killed nine people

This was the moment they had been planning for since a lucky break in Iraq last month.

Iraqi-Kurdish officials had detained one of Baghdadi's many wives, a nephew and the wife of one of his trusted couriers.

'GOOD RIDDANCE' SAY FAMILIES OF SOME OF ISIS'S BRITISH VICTIMS

Families of Britons killed during ISIS's blood-thirsty campaign of terror under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's leadership saluted the madman's death last night.

Charlotte Coleman, whose daughter Olivia died in the Manchester Arena attack, told The Sun: 'If they've killed him, good on them. No one will ever forget what they've done.'

And Mike Haines, whose brother aid-worker David was beheaded in Syria, added: 'His evil and cowardly beliefs and actions lack any humanity and caused the death of many innocent people.'

The information from that trio led them, it is understood, to an ISIS hideout in the desert of western Iraq, a bolthole that was to prove extremely valuable.

For found inside, among some of the ISIS leader's personal possessions, were the coordinates of his secret location, a non-descript house in a part of northwest Syria that was controlled by Al Qaeda, an enemy of Baghdadi.

Even for the organisation that murdered more than 3,000 in 9/11, the brutal violence of Islamic State was too much and Baghdadi was seen as unhinged.

With the CIA now on board, the mission to take out Baghdadi had suddenly grown even more dangerous.

Trump looks on

When Mr Trump arrived on Saturday to watch the operation in real-time, it came four days after he had given the green light, with several other opportunities aborted at the last minute.

Moments after he was in place, at around 9pm UK time, the US helicopters lifted off from their air base in Iraq and flew some 500 miles over 'very very dangerous territory', a journey that lasted just over an hour.

Donald Trump addressed the nation Sunday morning, confirming that the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He said he had watched and monitored the whole operation Saturday night

The teams had to cross Russian, Syrian and Turkish airspace to reach their objective. With current tensions in the region, they could easily have been mistaken for an invading force.

US commanders notified Moscow, Damascus and Ankara that something 'big' that they 'would like' was going to happen – but they did not share their ultimate goal.

As the helicopters, a mix of Chinooks and Black Hawks, approached the compound in the war-ravaged Idlib province, near the Turkish border, all hell broke loose.

Trump says ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'died like a dog'

Meeting in the situation room Saturday night (from left to right): National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, Vice President Mike Pence, Trump, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Army General Mark Milley and Brig. General Marcus Evans

Troops storm in

Fearing a booby-trapped front door, the elite soldiers made their own opening, blowing holes into the wall of Baghdadi's den. Two 'wives', both wearing suicide vests which thankfully did not detonate, were killed in the ensuing firefight, along with a large number of Baghdadi's 'fighters and companions'.

ISIS 'already has a new leader' barely a day after former chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died 'like a dog' in US strikes as the former Saddam Hussein army officer takes the terror group's reins.

Abdullah Qardash - sometimes spelt Karshesh - was said to have been nominated by the now deceased al-Baghdadi to run the group's 'Muslim Affairs', as reported by Newsweek.

Little is known about Qardash, who once served under Saddam Hussein.

But he is understood to have already taken over a number of duties from al-Baghdadi prior to his demise this week when he detonated a suicide vest.

An official told Newsweek: 'Baghdadi was a figurehead. He was not involved in operations or day-to-day.'

'All Baghdadi did was say yes or no—no planning.'

As they cleared the building carefully, tracking room by room in the darkness, an Arabic speaker called out, urging Baghdadi to give himself up.

But the terrorist who called for death to the West ran, drawing Delta Force deeper into the compound they had studied from plans – memorising every corner, every hiding place and every possible escape route.

As the team went further, they helped 11 children get out alive, while a group of Islamic State extremists, realising their time was up, surrendered. Mr Trump said there 'more dead than alive' in the aftermath.

Once the compound had been emptied of others, the US troops and their dogs chased Baghdadi into an underground tunnel, taking three children with him.

The soldiers knew it was a dead end and there was no escape, so proceeded slowly, sending in their highly-trained canines.

Target down

It was at that point that Baghdadi's murderous reign came to an end as he detonated his own suicide vest, killing himself, his terrified young hostages and bringing much of the tunnel down upon them.

Announcing the news yesterday, Mr Trump said: 'The thug who tried so hard to intimidate others spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him.'

Back in the White House, having been informed of the explosion, they held their breath. Back in the tunnel, the US team dug through the rubble.

Not much of Baghdadi was left – but enough for a DNA test using a small field kit.

Within 15 minutes, news crackled through to the Situation Room on the radio: '100 per cent confidence Jackpot. Over.'

Jackpot is thought to be the codename the US gave to Baghdadi, the same name they had given to Osama Bin Laden during a similar operation in 2011.

The overall Bin Laden operation was given the classified name 'Operation Neptune Spear', a reference to the trident in the insignia of SEAL Team Six who went after the terrorist.

This time, the mission for Baghdadi was given a more human touch, named after US human rights worker Kayla Mueller, who was captured by ISIS and, according to the US, made a personal prisoner of its leader before she was killed.

With Baghdadi confirmed dead, and the opposition outside 'obliterated' in the president's words, Delta Force made their way out but not before 'exploiting' the scene, a military term for intelligence gathering on the go.

Hideout blitzed

They grabbed every computer, every phone, every bit of paper they could find in the hope it will bring them closer to tracking those still loyal to IS and putting an end to them once and for all. Two hours after they touched down, the team was back in the air, being whisked to safety, heading out of Syria along the same path they had taken to get in.

The last action was to call in an airstrike by US drones, reducing Baghdadi's hideout to rubble, wiping it from the face of the Earth and covering their tracks.

When he had word his units were back safe and sound, not a casualty among them, Donald Trump fired up his Twitter to tease the world with a cryptic message: 'Something very big has just happened!'

He then stayed silent until breaking the news yesterday morning, telling reporters: 'Last night, the United States brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice.'

Al-Baghdadi, the leader of the so-called Islamic caliphate, blew himself up during the targeted attack on his lair in Syria's Idlib province in the early hours of Sunday morning. His lair was in a village known for smuggling, and he arrived there 48 hours before the raid

Death of a butcher, but not of his cause:

JOHN R. BRADLEY examines the likely impact of the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

He may have been the world's most wanted terrorist and the supremo of global jihad, but Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was all but a mythical figure to those hunting him.

Known as 'The Invisible Sheikh' – by virtue of the mask he wore to address his commanders – he nurtured the lowest of profiles, eschewing the showmanship of fellow jihadi leaders who paid the price by making themselves vulnerable to tracking by intelligence services.

Indeed, he made only two video appearances during his lifetime – until yesterday, that is, when US Special Forces apparently recorded him blowing himself up in northwestern Syria.

For five years, Al-Baghdadi – a nom de guerre, his real name was Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri – led the most barbaric terrorist outfit the modern world has known.

He came to global attention in 2014 when a YouTube video showed him in the pulpit of the Nouri mosque in Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, which his IS foot- soldiers had just conquered.

Dressed in a black turban and flowing black gown, he delivered a sermon urging Muslims around the world to swear allegiance to the new caliphate – an Islamic state led by a caliph, a successor to the Prophet Muhammad who has absolute political and religious power – and to flock to protect its newly conquered territory.

Al-Baghdadi's Iraqi tribe claimed descent from the Prophet, but few had heard of him before he brazenly declared himself ruler of all Muslims.

Born in 1971 to a middle-class family in the Iraqi city of Samarra, Al-Baghdadi always saw his destiny as an important religious leader. As a youth he was a keen footballer, but known for his piety. His family nickname was 'the Believer' because he'd scold those who failed to observe religious practices correctly.

He moved to Baghdad to study, graduating in Koranic studies and then teaching at a mosque. But when the US invaded Iraq in 2003, he joined the violent insurrection. A year later, US forces arrested him in Fallujah, but he was considered a low-level threat and incarcerated for only ten months.

Crucially, however, he spent time in the hellish Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca – known as the Jihad University – detention facilities where he befriended battle-hardened jihadis.

Following his release, Al-Baghdadi joined the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda which later became Islamic State of Iraq.

In 2010, he re-emerged as its leader, and his fighters crossed into Syria to take advantage of the chaos caused by the civil war. Islamic State in Iraq thus morphed into Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – and ISIL (later IS) was born.

By 2015, this ruthless battlefield tactician was ruling over a caliphate spanning parts of Syria and Iraq that was the size of Britain, with almost 8 million people under his control, and an annual budget of more than $1billion – generated through the sale of oil from the facilities IS controlled, but also from extortion and kidnapping.

His fanatical militia, who flocked to the caliphate from all over the world, numbered at least 30,000, although some estimates put their number at the caliphate's peak as at least double or even treble that.

During its reign of terror, IS carried out unspeakable acts of barbarity in the name of a perverted holy war. Its ultimate, apocalyptic goal was to rid the world of anyone – Muslim and non-Muslim alike – who refused to submit to its extremist interpretation of Islam.

Thousands of innocents were lined up on their knees and ritually slaughtered by having their throats slit. As 'infidels', Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims were singled out for slaughter, the ghastly spectacle was recorded in sickeningly

ISIS relished its reputation for brutality to Western hostages in particular, including Britons David Haines, an aid worker, and Alan Henning, a Salford taxi driver who had gone to Syria to help deliver aid. Countless others were burned or buried alive, or drowned, while suspected homosexuals were thrown from the top of buildings, and thousands of women and girls were taken as sex slaves.

In Iraq, more than 200 mass graves containing ISIS victims have been found containing between 6,000 and 12,000 bodies. Still more mass graves continue to be discovered in Syria.

At the same time, ISIS terrorists have carried out dozens of attacks around the world, killing and maiming thousands.

No wonder Donald Trump was triumphant yesterday – 'he died like a dog' – as he announced Al-Baghdadi's death. There have been numerous false reports of his death since the defeat of IS in 2017, but the President has a particular reason to be thrilled.

Trump is facing stinging criticism domestically and internationally that his partial withdrawal of US troops in Syria this month has left the Kurds – America's allies in the fight against IS – exposed and created a vacuum which might allow IS to re-emerge.

The group still has thousands of armed supporters in the area. ISIS sleeper cells have already launched several attacks.

Al-Baghdadi's death will bolster Trump's claim that under his watch ISIS will not be allowed to regain strength and threaten American interests. But the President would be foolish to be too optimistic. The parallels between the US raids that killed Al-Baghdadi and that which killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 are striking – and ominous.

Many terrorism experts argue that Al Qaeda is an even more dangerous enemy today, with thousands of battle-hardened members in South Asia, Africa and the West. Meanwhile, Islamic State is active in at least 18 countries, claiming to have carried out more than 1,800 attacks in the first half of this year alone. Al-Baghdadi is gone and the dream of the caliphate is over – but his death has not dealt a fatal blow.

John R Bradley is the author of After the Arab Spring: How Islamists Hijacked the Middle East Revolts

New US-led assault in Syria 'kills ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir' just hours after the terror group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was wiped out in Commando raid

The Islamic State group's spokesman was killed Sunday in northern Syria, a top Kurdish official said, hours after the jihadists' leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was announced dead.

The official with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces -- who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak on the issue -- said ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir had been killed, after SDF chief Mazloum Abdi said he had been 'targeted' in a fresh raid.

'Al-Muhajir, the right-hand of Baghdadi and the spokesman for ISIS, was targeted in the village of Ain al-Baydah near Jarablus, in a coordinated operation between SDF intelligence and the US army,' Abdi said on Twitter.

An AFP correspondent in Ain al-Baydah, which is controlled by Turkey-backed Syrian rebels, said two vehicles where hit by airstrikes: a small pick-up truck and a larger truck carrying a small metal container.

Firefighters extinguish the flames of a burning truck at the spot where Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, the Islamic State group's spokesman was reportedly killed in a raid in the northern Syrian village of Ayn al-Bayda near Jarablus on Sunday

He saw two corpses lying outside the first vehicle while a third charred body was in the metal container.

He could not identify who was behind the strikes or if they were carried out by warplanes or a drone.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the death of al-Muhajir, saying he was among five IS members who were killed in a US-led operation backed by the SDF.

In a later post on Twitter, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said: 'We believe ISIS spox. Al-Muhajir was in Jarablus to facilitate Baghdadi's entry to Euphrates Shield area,' referring to a zone in northern Syria controlled by Turkey's Syria proxies.

'The two US-led operations have effectively disabled top ISIS leadership who were hiding' in northwest Syria.

'More still remain hiding in the same area,' Bali said.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump said Baghdadi was killed, dying 'like a dog,' in a daring, nighttime raid by US special forces deep in northwest Syria.

Trump said that US forces killed a 'large number' of ISIS militants during the raid, which culminated in Baghdadi cornered in a tunnel, where he detonated a suicide vest.

The operation to kill Baghdadi took place near a small village in northwestern Syria called Barisha, more than a 100 kilometres west of Ain al-Baydah.

The ISIS 'caliphate' was eradicated in March, nearly five years after it was proclaimed by Baghdadi, largely reducing the jihadist militants to scattered sleeper cells.

At the time, the ISIS spokesman came out of months of silence to spur on his troops.

He had not delivered a speech since March.

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -link.html

[Anthea]

What is the term followers use for a dead leader?

A MARTYR

ISIS, that was supposedly already of the rise again prior to the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, now have a MARTYR to worship

If ISIS jihadists retaliate, who will their first targets be?

KURDS

Because Kurdish intelligence pinpointed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's hideout and America, though it carried out the attack, is too far for jihadists to launch an attack from their Syrian hideouts

[Anthea]

Turkey steps up campaign
against SDF's Kobane

Turkey has stepped up its campaign against Mazlum Kobane, the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as part of a broader Turkish effort to deny the US-backed Syrian Kurds political legitimacy

Ankara is equating Kobane, who is on Turkey’s most-wanted list, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS) who died in a US military raid in northwest Syria on Sunday.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said today that Kobane “is every bit a terrorist as slain al Baghdadi.” The Justice Ministry has drawn up a request for his extradition along with one for his provisional arrest. The paperwork has been forwarded to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry.

The moves appear geared to prevent Kobane from traveling to Washington, where a group of congressmen led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are lobbying to arrange a meeting between the militia leader and President Donald Trump.

Despite the groundswell of global sympathy for the SDF, which played a critical role in defeating the Islamic State — and in helping track down its leader — Turkey has largely succeeded in squashing the SDF's aspirations.

Members of the Syrian Democratic Council, led by Kobane’s close ally, Ilham Ehmed, will not be among some 150 Syrians who will convene under UN auspices in Geneva on Wednesday to begin drafting a constitution for their war-ravaged country.

UN Syria envoy Geir Pederson is expected to meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Geneva on Tuesday.

Turkey, Iran and Russia have led the so-called Astana process, which has effectively allowed the Syrian regime to claw back territory from the rebels. Thanks to Trump’s decision earlier this month to let Turkish forces cross into northeast Syria by pulling back US troops and last week’s deal between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the SDF has been pushed back from much of the Turkish border. A large Russian military delegation is expected to arrive in Ankara to discuss implementation, Turkey’s pro-government A Haber television reported.

Idlib, where Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants are dug in, and Deir Ez-Zor, where US forces withdrawing from the Kurdish-majority areas along the Turkish border have redeployed, supposedly to “guard the oil,” are expected to come up during the talks.

Russia will undoubtedly seek to threaten Turkey with the Kurds to get it to tame Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib, and to threaten the Kurds with Turkey to get them to cede further ground to the regime.

SDF forces have until midday Tuesday to pull 30 kilometers (19 miles) back from the Turkish border under the terms of the Turkish-Russian agreement. Turkish and Russian forces are then supposed to launch joint patrols in the designated areas, which fall to the east and west of Turkey’s newly acquired slab of land between the towns of Tell Abyad and Ras el-Ain.

Kobane has pledged to comply. And Cavusoglu has threatened to resume hostilities if the SDF does not. "There are those who have withdrawn. [Syrian] regime elements are confirming this, Russia is confirming this as well. But it is not possible to say all of them have withdrawn," Cavusoglu said today.

Sources familiar with the administration’s internal debates told Al-Monitor that the US Embassy in Ankara was pushing back against Graham’s demands that Kobane be granted a visa and the embassy may well prevail. Turkey’s extradition claims are based on Kobane’s prior role within the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been waging an armed campaign against Turkish security forces for the past 35 years.

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, said today that the invitation to Kobane “is a major contradiction in the fight against terrorism.”

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department. The United States played a key role in helping Turkey capture PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. It recently placed bounties on some of the PKK’s top commanders in the field in an effort to appease Turkey over the Pentagon’s continued alliance with Kobane and the SDF.

But Ankara’s standing is at an all-time low following its Oct. 9 incursion into northern Syria, which effectively collapsed the Syrian Kurds’ experiment with autonomy and ushered back Syrian regime forces to much of the Turkish-Syrian border where the SDF had held sway.

Turkey’s conduct has prompted global condemnation, particularly after Ankara's Arab proxies in the Syrian National Army unleashed an orgy of atrocities as they advanced against the SDF. News that Baghdadi had been sheltering for months in a village just 5 kilometers (3 miles) south of the Turkish border in Idlib province, where Turkey has 12 military observation posts and apparently little intelligence capacity, has further blackened Turkey’s image.

Brett McGurk, the former presidential envoy to the anti-IS coalition, said in an op-ed in the Washington Post today, “Turkey has some explaining to do. Baghdadi was found not in his traditional areas of eastern Syria or western Iraq, but rather in northwestern Syria, just a few miles from Turkey's border.” McGurk reminded readers, “Most of the nearly 40,000 foreign fighters that flooded Syria during its civil war came through Turkey into northwestern Syria” and said it was “telling that the US military reportedly chose to launch this operation from hundreds of miles away in Iraq, as opposed to facilities in Turkey, a NATO ally, just across the border.”

US officials have since confirmed that Turkey was not involved in the mission but was informed of it, part of a deconfliction effort that also involved Russia, which controls the airspace over Idlib. The Kurds, both Syrian and Iraqi, have been credited with providing significant intelligence that led to Baghdadi’s ignominious end. And Kobane called the raid "a joint operation” on his Twitter feed.

Omer Taspinar, a Middle East expert at the National War College and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Al-Monitor, “The fact that US forces did not use the Incirlik air base [in southern Turkey] shows there is a lack of trust for this sensitive operation and as President Trump made it clear yesterday in his remarks the United States tried very hard to not share sensitive information with Russia, Iraq and Turkey.” Taspinar continued, “Under normal circumstances they might have used Incirlik, but apparently judged this might cause problems in terms of intelligence [leaks] as it is a Turkish base, even though the United States has a presence there.”

Turkey’s reputation as an IS enabler has stuck even though Turkey itself has been the victim of multiple IS attacks. It has opened its air bases to the coalition and carried out airstrikes against the jihadis inside Syria, wresting Jarablus, al-Rai and Dabiq from them in a 2016 ground offensive dubbed Euphrates Shield. It has been cracking down on IS networks inside the country, arresting 20 militants in a raid in Ankara today. That said, the largest IS attack in October 2015, which left 107 dead, targeted a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Ankara. Another attack in the town of Suruc near the Syrian border, two months prior, was aimed at socialist young people who were planning to rebuild the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani. The government was accused of failing to take adequate security measures to protect them.

Nicholas Danforth, a senior visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund, told Al-Monitor, “For years, Turkey has faced criticism, both fair and unfair, about its relationship with IS. Whatever facts emerge, this will undoubtedly intensify because of where Baghdadi was found. And while Turkey has consistently condemned the SDF as a terrorist group and a nonconsequential nonstate actor, Washington remains convinced the SDF was a far better partner in the fight against IS.” There may be a silver lining, however. “From the perspective of [planned] congressional sanctions [against Turkey], the intensified anger at Turkey may be offset if Baghdadi’s death helps mollify the outrage over Trump’s withdrawal decision.”

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/origin ... e-sdf.html

[Anthea]

Syria's Assad wants complete
control of Western Kurdistan

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday that his government’s ultimate goal was to restore state authority over Kurdish controlled areas of Western Kurdistan in northeast Syria, after an abrupt U.S. troop withdrawal but he expected it to happen gradually

In a state television interview Assad also said that a deal between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin to drive out the Kurdish-led YPG militia from a 30 km (19 mile) “safe zone” along the border was a “positive” step that would help Damascus achieve its goal.

“It might not achieve everything ... it paves the road to liberate this area in the near future we hope,” said Assad, who has remained in power in Damascus through a more than eight-year-long civil war with the backing of Russia and Iran.

The U.S.-allied Kurdish YPG militia reached a deal with Damascus to take up positions near the border after U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement in early October that he was withdrawing American forces from northeast Syria. The YPG is the main fighting element of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that has beaten back Islamic State in the region.

The withdrawal paved the way for a Turkish offensive against the Kurds and left them feeling abandoned by the United States and forcing them to work a deal with Damascus to help them resist Turkish forces. Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist organization because of its links to Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey.

Assad also said Trump’s decision to keep a small number of U.S. troops in the Kurdish-held areas of Syria “where they have the oil” showed that Washington was a colonial power that was doomed to leave once Syrians resist their occupation as in Iraq.

But he said his country could not stand up to a great power such as the United States and that ending the presence of American troops on Syrian soil was not achievable soon.

Assad said Trump was the “best American president” for his “complete transparency” about intentions to maintain control of Syria’s main oilfields in Deir al-Zor province.

U.S. troops have begun deployment in the province in coordination with the SDF to increase security and continue the fight against remnants of Islamic State, a U.S. military spokesman said on Thursday.

Diplomats say the U.S. decision to prevent oil fields from falling back to government control would deny Damascus millions of dollars of much needed revenues and ensure its Kurdish ally a main source of income to govern areas it controls.

The Kurds would not be asked to immediately hand over their weapons when the Syrian army enters their areas in a final deal with them that brings back state control to the large swathe of territory they now control, Assad said in the interview.

“There are armed groups that we cannot expect they would hand over weapons immediately but the final goal is to return to the previous situation, which is the complete control of the state,” he said.

The commander of the Kurdish-led forces Mazloum Kobani has said the agreement with Damascus could pave the way for a political solutiReporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Grant McCoolon to be worked out later with the Syrian government, that could guarantee Kurdish rights in Syria.

But he insisted at this stage it was only to allow the deployment of Syrian troops across SDF stronghold areas along the border with Turkey in a move to thwart Ankara’s plan to create a “safe zone.”

Syria had a right to defend its territorial integrity against separatist Kurds who aspired to create a Kurdish state and rule over Arabs and other ethnic groups, Assad said.

Resentment against Kurdish dominated rule in eastern Syria has grown among the predominately Arab population, residents say.

Would that be the Arabs Assad placed along the border area to divide Kurds from Western Kurdistan from Kurds in Northern Kurdistan

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syri ... SKBN1XA2LI

[Anthea]

Blast in Idlib causes
multiple casualties

Continued conflict in the Idlib region of Western Kurdistan, Syria is creating a huge need for medical care. A massive explosion in Darkoush town in the afternoon of Thursday 31 October resulted in 12 casualties being rushed for urgent treatment to a nearby hospital supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

A building near the centre of Darkoush town exploded, with the cause being as yet unclear. The force of the blast injured many people in the vicinity. Tragically, two victims arrived dead, having succumbed to their wounds during the journey to the hospital.

Two of the patients had extremely severe wounds; a 12-year-old boy with a head injury and a 16-year-old girl with abdominal wounds, both of whom were stabilised and then referred to other hospitals with more technical medical capacity.

Three patients had moderately severe head, foot or hand wounds that could be treated at the MSF-supported hospital, and five patients had lighter wounds to the head, leg, foot or hand, also treated at this hospital.

One of the senior doctors in the MSF-supported hospital explained the nervousness currently felt by his medical team:

“After a big mass casualty influx we faced last week, and this new influx of wounded yesterday, the hospital has increased its readiness. We took a decision to stop receiving all non-emergency cases in the coming days.”

“We are expecting to receive other casualties due to increased bombing in the area.,” the doctor continued. “Turning away patients is never an easy decision for any medic or hospital to take… But we feel it is now necessary for our medical teams to be on permanent stand-by for urgent life-saving surgery.”

MSF-supported hospitals in Idlib have responded to two mass casualty events in the space of a week, and it is clear that the need for life-saving medical care is as high as ever in this protracted and violent war.

“MSF calls on all warring parties in Syria to ensure the protection of civilians, including health workers and their patients,” said Duccio Staderini, MSF Head of Mission for Syria response operations.

Across Western Kurdistan, Syria, MSF teams provide maternal healthcare, general healthcare and treatment for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through mobile clinics. They distribute relief items and improve water and sanitation systems. They also support regular vaccination activities in two vaccination centres and one hospital and through mobile clinic services.

Also in Western Kurdistan, Syria, MSF runs a specialised burns unit that provides surgery, skin grafts, dressings, physiotherapy and psychological support. MSF provides distance-support provides support to primary and secondary healthcare in several hospitals and clinics around Idlib and Aleppo, and has co-management partnerships with three hospitals, including the hospital that responded to Thursday’s mass casualty event.

MSF’s medical programs across Raqqa and Al Hasakeh governorates in northeastern Syria have been reduced or suspended since 15 October 2019 as we have been unable to ensure the safety of our teams due to the conflict in the region.

To ensure independence from political pressures, MSF receives no government funding for its work in Syria.

https://www.msf.org/blast-syria-idlib-r ... casualties

[Anthea]

Risking Turkey’s ire as Southern
Kurdistan backs Western Kurdistan

An oft-cited reason for why the Kurds, who are counted among the world’s largest ethnic minorities, do not have their own state is the unremitting disunity among themselves

But Turkey’s Oct. 9 assault against a US-backed Kurdish militia in Western Kurdistan, Syria, has prompted an unprecedented display of pan-Kurdish solidarity. The Iraqi Kurds are at the vanguard of protests against Turkish belligerence, with many boycotting Turkish products. Unusually, their leaders are taking a harder line too.

The chill was on display — not coincidentally, some speculated — Oct. 29, which marked the 76th anniversary of the founding of modern Turkey. Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), made it known that he had “no plans to visit Turkey this week.” The news leaked by a prime ministry official was apparently in response to comments by Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, who suggested that Barzani would be visiting Ankara — on Oct. 30, according to the Turkish media — but that it wasn’t clear whether he would be received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. ,

Turkey remains critical to the KRG’s economic well-being, some argue its survival. Oil, the Kurdish statelet’s main source of income, is exported through a pipeline that runs to loading terminals on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

The lack of clarity over whether he would get to see Erdogan may have prompted the notoriously proud Barzani to scrap what would have been his first official trip to Ankara as prime minister. But to millions of Kurds it was a blistering rebuke of Turkey’s ongoing campaign against their Syrian brothers in the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The KRG parliament has called on Turkey, in a statement, “to halt its military campaign in Western Kurdistan” — a reference to Syria's Kurdish regions. Mainstream Iraqi Kurdish outlets Kurdistan24 and Rudaw have been zealously chronicling atrocities committed by Turkish-backed rebel forces since the start of Operation Peace Spring.

“I believe this moment represents the peak in sentiments of Kurdish national unity,” said Guney Yildiz, a nonresident fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Aydin Selcen, a political commentator who served as Turkey’s first consul general to Iraqi Kurdistan, concurred. He told Al-Monitor that although Iraqi Kurdish political parties are famously fractured, Turkey’s incursion has “managed to harvest a rare union among all the political actors in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.”

Ramzy Mardini, a scholar at the US Institute of Peace, told Al-Monitor that even though the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraq and the YPG “are rivals, what is happening in Syria transcends political rivalries. Iraqi Kurds identify with Syrian Kurds, I think that’s hard to miss.” The KDP is presided over by Barzani's father, Massoud, the former president of the KRG and the eminence grise of Iraqi Kurdish politics.

Mardini was alluding to competing claims for leadership of the more than 30 million Kurds inhabiting Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq. The main contenders are the Barzanis and Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting the Turkish army for the past 35 years, initially for an independent Kurdistan carved out of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The PKK now says it will plump for Kurdish autonomy within Turkey’s borders.

The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, which is why Turkey is infuriated by the US alliance with the group. Mardini said, “A meeting in Ankara [between Masrour Barzani and Erdogan] would have placed the emphasis on KDP-Turkish relations, and I don’t think it's good domestic politics for Barzani at the moment — not while Kurds are dying in Syria. I think Kurdish nationalism is a much more powerful force in shaping political motivations than alliances, even important ones like with Turkey.”

The Iraqi Kurdish government and the KDP in particular have faced sharp criticism over what is seen as indulgence of Turkish impunity in the battle against the PKK. Endemic corruption and economic instability rampant across the rest Iraq have fueled protests in the KRG. A wrong step on Syria could reignite the fuse.

Since 1991, when the Iraqi Kurds began running their own chunk of Iraq under US protection, Turkey has kept up attacks against PKK guerrillas holed up in the mountains on the Iraqi and Iranian side of the border. And for a while, the KDP and its main political rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, under pressure from Turkey, took up arms against the PKK.

Turkey is now targeting Yazidi-dominated Shengal (also known by its Arabic name Sinjar) near Syria, all part of a strategy to disrupt supply lines between the PKK and the YPG. Scores of civilians have either died or been wounded in Turkish airstrikes. Iraqi Kurdish leaders routinely blame the PKK for inviting Turkish retribution by using their territory as a base to launch their attacks on Turkey, part of a delicate balancing act aimed at placating Turkey.

But now their ire is being leveled at Turkey.

The first shot was fired by the elder Barzani in an Oct. 9 tweet. “We are very concerned about the recent developments in Western Kurdistan. We are in contact with several channels and we will do are our utmost to ensure that the people of Rojava [Syrian Kurdistan] are not subjected to any more disasters.” Both Masrour Barzani and Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, chimed in with statements of their own.

Mazlum Kobane, the commander in chief of the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces, thanked the KRG and “especially Massoud Barzani” for his support. The PKK has made similarly conciliatory noises.

The “channels" Barzani senior was likely referring to were EU leaders, notably French President Emmanuel Macron. A lawmaker from Turkey’s largest pro-Kurdish party with close knowledge of Barzani’s back channel diplomacy told Al-Monitor, “Massoud worked very hard to get European governments, especially Macron and the Germans, to pressure Turkey to halt its offensive.”

Macron has been among the fiercest critics of the Turkish invasion, charging that it will help the Islamic State rebuild its caliphate. He is said to have intervened personally to get a Syrian Kurdish child who was severely burned in the Turkish assault flown to France for medical treatment at Massoud Barzani’s behest.

Turkey has lashed out at France but it has yet to publicly denounce the KRG.

This speaks to a reluctance on both sides to unravel relations beyond repair. The Middle East Institute’s Yildiz observed, "The official line of the Iraqi Kurdish government was still much weaker against Turkey in comparison to most Arab states and some European governments.”

For Turkey, the KRG remains a critical gateway to Iraq and the Middle East. Friendship with Iraq’s Kurds allows Ankara to claim its not “anti-Kurdish” but rather “anti-PKK.” Selcen, the former Turkish envoy, said, “Mutual dependence and the leadership of President Nechirvan Barzani will be the two dominant factors to prevent relations between the two sides from being further derailed.” Nechirvan Barzani, who is hailed as the pragmatist, is Turkey’s principal interlocutor. More critically, Erdogan is said to like him.

None of this has stopped Ankara from trying to subvert revived plans to convene a pan-Kurdish congress first floated in 2013 to be presided over by Massoud Barzani in either Dahuk or Erbil. The Kurdish politician, who asked not to be identified in order to speak freely, confirmed that his party was involved in the efforts to assemble numerous Kurdish political parties from Turkey, Syria and Iraq “as soon as possible” in a bid to harness “the spirit of unity” engendered by the Turkish invasion.

But for the Iraqi Kurds, it is not just about solidarity.

Their greater worry was articulated by another Barzani, the former head of the KDP leadership Council, Adham Barzani. He told Voice of America’s Kurdish-language service in an Oct. 13 interview that if Turkey’s latest anti-Kurdish operation succeeds, Iraqi Kurdistan will be next.

Ruwaydah Mustafa is an Iraqi Kurdish doctoral candidate at Kingston University, London, who is focusing on democracy and state building. She told Al-Monitor, “The [September 2017] Kurdistan independence referendum strained ties with Turkey and it's still recovering from that.” The Iraqi Kurds could once count on the United States for its support. But events in Syria and Washington’s firm opposition to the referendum have shown that “the United States is no longer the reliable ally the Kurdish people once perceived it to be.”

The other big worry for the KRG is the potential influx of Syrian Kurds fleeing the Turkish offensive. KRG officials say they are bracing for as many as 300,000. As of Saturday, some 13,638 displaced Syrian Kurds had sought refuge in the KRG, which is already heaving under the financial and logistical strain of some 1.2 million people displaced by the war against the Islamic State.

“After eight years of civil war in neighboring Syria, and six years into our own Islamic State crisis in Iraq, it seemed we were reaching a level of relative stability and opportunities for people to return,” said Sherri Kraham Talabany, president of the SEED Foundation, an Erbil-based charity. Talabany told Al-Monitor in an email, “This new wave of targeted attacks against the minority Kurdish, Yazidi and Christian population is truly devastating. The chaos, disruption to the political order, the lack of control over IS prisons, all are deeply destabilizing to the region and poses enormous risks not just to Kurdistan and Iraq, but the world.”

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/origin ... q-krg.html

[Anthea]

White phosphorus melts
Kurdish children's flesh

White phosphorus melts children's flesh but no government wants to investigate—and the U.S. keeps using it, too

Airstrikes and mortar shells from Turkey and its Arab militias rained down on the Western Kurdistan, Syria, border town of Ras al-Ayn a few weeks ago. Images from the attack showed children with raw, flayed flesh, screaming.

The munitions allegedly contained white phosphorus—a self-igniting chemical that can burn at upwards of 4,800 degrees Fahrenheit once it makes contact with air.
syria war doctor hospital injured

"It's a horrific weapon. It burns things to the ground and terrifies people," Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, the former head of the British Army's chemical weapons unit, told Newsweek.

"It's extremely painful," said Erik Tollefsen, head of the weapons contamination unit for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"I've seen these burns first-hand when trying to assist and provide first aid to the victims of these attacks and it's devastating... It burns deep, deep, deep into the body and the trauma it causes can be severe."

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) paper on the effects of the incendiary said: "Victims who survive their initial injuries may suffer from intense pain, severe infections, organ failure and lowered resistance to disease ... They may also suffer severe disfigurement and lifelong disability, psychological trauma, and an inability to reintegrate into society."

And yet, although the use of white phosphorus may be considered a war crime if used against civilians, typically it is not. This is because internationally accepted rules on warfare were drawn up by diplomatic representatives of militaries and, often as not, laws on the use of weapons have tended to prioritize military objectives.

The laws governing white phosphorus are among the most egregious of this.

White phosphorus laws mean Turkey is not alone

The chemical's ability to burn at extreme heat also makes it extremely effective at both illuminating the battlefield (when used in flares) and in disseminating smoke to obscure the movement of ground forces (when used in smoke munitions.) Because of its usefulness for a variety of purposes other than anti-personnel weapons, the accepted rules of war have largely protected its use.

"Typically, white phosphorus is not classified as a chemical agent under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)," Tollefsen explained to Newsweek.

"It's typically used in most conventional arms stores in militaries across the world and its usually used to provide a smoke screen, typically to extract or recover forces in the battlefield," he said. "And because white phosphorus generates so much heat when ignited, it can also be used to disturb the weapons of enemies who rely on infrared sights.

"It is also used in the targeting process so that you can illuminate the battlefield in day or night. In the daytime, you can see the smoke as a signaling device and in the night time, you can see areas more clearly because of the heat generated through to night vision goggles."
White phosphorus use Israel UN

As a result, white phosphorus use typically falls into the remit of Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), as opposed to the CWC. Protocol III narrowly prohibits targeting civilian populations with incendiary weapons specifically designed to cause burn injuries. It does not explicitly disallow devices like flares and smoke grenades that can cause the same injuries, but ostensibly unintentionally.

This is why more than ninety years on since the first Geneva Conventions were adopted, white phosphorus remains in surprisingly widespread use

The U.S. has acknowledged using white phosphorus in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 and a 2010 study found that the effect on infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia was worse than those experienced by the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.

Israel used white phosphorus-loaded munitions during its 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead—burning and maiming numerous Palestinian civilians as they took shelter in schools, hospitals and community centers. HRW later concluded that the indiscriminate firing of the incendiary into densely packed civilian areas constituted war crimes, a conclusion that Israel—which argued it used the munitions only in order to create smoke screens—continues to reject.

Even in Syria, Turkey is far from the only state to have been blamed for indiscriminate white phosphorus use. Syrian and Russian government forces are also accused of using the substance on multiple occasions and the U.S. also used it on civilians in Raqqa, during the battle against Islamic State militants (ISIS), as recently as 2017.

The United Nations is refusing to investigate

Turkey has so far denied all allegations of using white phosphorus in its recent northern Syria offensive and has released several statements claiming that the attacks were staged by terrorists to discredit the "sensitivity and success" of the Turkish army.

None of the images of the Ras al-Ayn attack published by Newsweek or the The Times of London have been specifically contested, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan broadly asserted that reports of white phosphorus use are "false news." The same talking points were repeated by several of his ministers in government-aligned newspapers and on cable news. Many pro-nationalist Twitter accounts also deny the allegations when pictures of alleged evidence are posted online, claiming that Turkey has no access to chemical weapons.

The White House, the Department of Defense, Britain and France's foreign ministries and European Union officials did not respond to Newsweek requests for comment.
Ras al Ayn Syria white phosphorous

The U.N.-backed Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) previously confirmed it was aware of the allegations against Turkey and said it was "collecting information with regard to possible use of chemical weapons."

However, a spokesperson since told Newsweek it was not investigating, but merely "monitoring the situation." And The Times of London reported on Sunday that investigators from the OPCW are not only not investigating, but are also refusing to take skin samples taken from civilian casualties suspected of being burned by white phosphorus, arguing the cases fall beyond their remit.

It means that the tissue samples taken by Kurdish medical teams and transferred to Ibril in northern Iraq for analysis will be left to denigrate in refrigerators.

"Nobody wants this to be investigated"

Specialists at the OPCW told the London newspaper, on condition of anonymity, that they were approached by a number of embassies from NATO countries to not get involved.

"Nobody wants this to be investigated because of the answers that might come out," Bretton-Gordon told Newsweek. After 23 years in the British Army's chemical warfare division, he has spent the last eight years working with groups such as the OPCW, the ICRC and HRW, among others in Syria, helping medics treat victims of chemical weapons attacks. He has also helped these agencies develop new mechanisms for collecting evidence.

"I think one of the things people are worried about is that Turkey is responsible for this and Turkey is a NATO ally," he said.

Meanwhile, The Times revealed that U.K. ministers approved upwards of 70 export licences for weapons containing the incendiary phosphorus in the last twenty years.

The U.S. State Department has approved $373.2m of arms sales to Turkey in 2019 alone and after the Ras al-Ayn attack, a number of senators—both Democratic and Republican—have written to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to share their concerns.

The letter, seen by Foreign Policy, said: "The volume and nature of direct commercial sales to Turkey raise significant concerns that U.S.-origin defense articles may be in use in the Turkish offensive in northern Syria, potentially in connection with the use of chemical weapons and in violation of the applicable end-use agreements and U.S. and international law."

It was signed by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Turkey

Despite the efforts of senators for further scrutiny, in cases like these, the OPCW can fall back on Protocol III.

When asked by Newsweek why it was not investigating the attacks, a spokesperson for the OPCW simply reiterated an explanation of the protocol.

Closing the loophole

Because of continuing alleged attacks like these that go unpunished, organizations like HRW have tried to beef up Protocol III in the last several years; arguing it is inadequate for the purposes of defending civilians from the use of white phosphorus.

The protocol—which focuses on incendiary weapons in general—states that weapons "primarily designed to set fire to objects or to cause burn injury to persons through the action of flame, heat, or combination thereof," are banned against civilian populations.

However, because many white phosphorus munitions, and indeed the substance itself, are not "primarily designed" for incendiary purposes, the regulation typically allows its use to slide.

"Regulating a weapon under Protocol III depends on how the developer, manufacturer, and/or user describe its purpose," a recent HRW report, From Condemnation To Concrete Action, said.

"Under this definition, the nature or magnitude of impact is not taken into account, as long as the incendiary weapon is found to have a primary purpose that is beyond the scope of the protocol.

"This 'primarily designed' language allows certain munitions that produce incendiary effects, such as white phosphorus, to escape regulation.

"The protocol could be read to allow states to use white phosphorus munitions despite their cruel effects," it added.

The paper calls for a more comprehensive definition of incendiary weapons to be taken up; one that focuses more on the destruction to civilians caused, regardless of the purpose for which weapons are primarily designed.

HRW presented these conclusions, among others, to a meeting of the contracting parties to the CCW at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2018, but only a handful of countries attended the relevant panel discussion on Protocol III.

Those included Australia, Austria, Chile, Croatia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and Switzerland, in addition to representatives from ICRC. Major players like the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Israel declined to weigh in.

As such, the HRW initiative is yet to receive the backing needed to proceed.

Bretton-Gordon told Newsweek that the world's most powerful countries need to start speaking out so that these types of attacks stop happening.

"We all cry into our teacups on Sunday morning when we see all these pictures of melting children," he said. "Quite frankly, it's our fault.

"Some of the things I've seen have been indescribable and you just think, crikey, when are we as a government and people going to do something about this?"
syria man injured hospital war

Link to Article - Photos:

https://www.newsweek.com/why-united-nat ... UsaemvR4kA

[Anthea]

SDF commander: A word
from Trump will stop attacks

The only one who can stop Turkey from continuing its invasion of Western Kurdistan, Syria is US President Donald Trump, General Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi has told Rudaw

The commander added that SDF will not leave their people "defenseless" in the face of Turkey's onslaught in Rojava Kurdistani, the Kurdish name for Western Kurdistan, Syria.

Washington has shown a "weak stance" against the Turkish invasion, Abdi told Rudaw's Roj Eli Zalla on Tuesday.

However, Abdi said that "a single word” from Trump to Erdogan would stop the Turkey’s continued offensive, and Washington must clearly tell Ankara that they “cannot attack” Rojava Kurdistani.

“The US has to forcibly stop the Turks now," Abdi added.

Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched Operation Peace Spring, intended to clear a 32 km-deep zone of Kurdish forces in Northern Syria to resettle Arab Syrian refugees on October 9.

The operation commenced after Trump greenlighted the invasion following the withdrawal of US troops from the north of the country.

Fierce fighting ensued between the SDF and Turkish-backed Syrian forces, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Ankara stuck two deals with the US and Russia which led to a ceasefire, which Turkey has been accused of violating.

The Kurdish military leader described the US-brokered ceasefire as unsuccessful and accused Turkey and their militia groups of not respecting the deals made with Washington and Moscow "for even an hour".

“The ceasefire was not a success. It was not implemented,” Abdi said.

Asked about the role of the Syrian government, Abdi downplayed their military capabilities.

"[The] Syrian government is not at a level to militarily prevent the tanks and warplanes of the Turks. They do not mean to use force to stop them. "

Syrian regime forces have been deployed to most border areas with Turkey following the deal with the SDF. They were attacked by pro-Turkey militants in late October, resulting in several deaths and 18 captured, who were later handed over to Russian military police.

Abdi rejected Erdogan's claims saying the SDF was present in areas of Tal Rafaat and (Sari Kani) Ras al-Ain.

“The Syrian Democratic Forces are not in these areas,” he said.

“The forces mentioned by Turkey are not there. They have not been there at all since the invasion of Afrin [in March 2018].”

The battle between the SDF and Turkish-backed Syrian forces is currently focused on Tel Tamr, which was not included in the recent deals made between the US, Russia Turkey. Describing the town as a “mini Syria”, Abdi said Turkey is targeting the multi-ethnic city.

"The Turkish state's goal is to control Tel Tamr because it is a strategic area. Tel Tamr is the mini version of Syria. There are Kurds, Christians and Arabs. Therefore, it is important for us to focus on it. "

Abdi also says Damascus has to be more open to dialogue with the Kurds to resolve the “Kurdish issue” in the country, and accept the presence of Kurdish areas.

“The important thing is that there are Kurds and Kurdish areas. The Syrian government has to accept this,” he told Zalla.

The importance of Kurdish unity in the area was also discussed

The SDF commander described the current situation in Rojava as a “historic, sensitive phase” and added that without unity, the gains made over the past several years will be lost.”

“It is possible we could lose the achievements of the revolution. Things could go either way,” he told Rudaw.

“We call on Syrian Kurdish political parties to establish unity..for us to struggle together so that we come out successful for our people,” he added.

The SDF has spoken with all Kurdish parties in Syria, according to Abdi.

He hailed the role of both civilians and politicians in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for their displays of solidarity with Syrian Kurds.

“The stance of the people of South Kurdistan was very positive. They went out in support of the SDF, they rejected the invasion, they boycotted the Turkish economy. It makes us proud,” he said, adding that the “strong” support of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) was also appreciated.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... /061120192

[Anthea]

Thanks to a link from Piling:

Rudaw's interview with
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi

Below is a translated, full transcript of the interview Rudaw's Roj Eli Zalla conducted with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi on November 5, 2019

They discussed the US-led operation to capture late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, negotiations with the Syrian regime's army on the SDF's future, and the failures of US and Russian deals with Turkey to limit their operations against Kurdish-led forces since Operation Peace Spring began on October 9.

I want to start with an easy question. You have used a number of names such as Mazloum Abdi and Mazloum Kobani during your career. Which of these would you like us to call you?

I use Mazloum Abdi, but as you wish.

Thank you so much. Last week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad talked about Rojava. What is your comment on his speech?

Actually, we expected a more positive position from Syrian government, but unfortunately the contents of Bashar Assad’s speech was not positive. Therefore, there are subjects [in his speech] that we criticize. It also included some positive parts such as keeping the channel of dialogue with our forces and Kurds open; this was positive. He mentioned that they want to make agreements with Kurds and together face Turkish invasion; this was positive.

However, his position on the resolution of the Kurdish issue and the issue of all northeast Syria was weak. It was not sufficient to reach a solution. The Syrian government has to approach this more positively, be more open to dialogue and make steps with more courage in order to resolve Kurdish issue and all of the issue of areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

One of the things that drew my attention was that he said he would not return to SDF-controlled areas permanently - but later, things have to be restored to pre-2011 [pre-revolution]. What do you think about this?

Our position is clear. We have always said that we have to have principal conditions for a deal with Syrian government. First, this administration [Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria] must be accepted as part of the general administration of Syria in the constitution. Second, the Syrian Democratic Forces - as an establishment- should have a special status in the framework the general defense system of Syria. We do not oppose being incorporated into the general defense system of Syria, but [want] special status. Definitely, the Kurdish issue is an essential one and the rights of Kurds have to be ensured in the Syrian constitution.

Regarding respecting the territorial integrity of Syrian soil, President Bashar al-Assad said that there are some maps and there is the name of Kurdistan, adding that this is not acceptable as it is against said integrity. Will you insist on the name of Syrian Kurdistan?

The important thing is that there are Kurds and Kurdish areas. The Syrian government has to accept this. They cannot say Kurds exist but do not have a land. There are areas mostly populated by Kurds. There are areas where Kurds make up 90 percent of their population. These are Kurdish areas and its name is Kurdistan.

Because Syrian Democratic Forces are organized, Russia has reportedly preferred them to be incorporated into Syrian defense army. How do you see this?

As I said earlier, we clearly say that Syrian Democratic Forces should keep its military organization and protect areas under its control in northeast Syria as a formal part of Syrian Army. This is our position. However, the Syrian government’s position is somewhat different. They accept the incorporation of the Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian Army but without having special status or a military self-administration. They prefer our [soldiers] and commanders join them individually, which we reject.

It is said the Syrian government wants the SDF to join them as the fifth legion of Syrian Army. What is your opinion on this and what does Russia say?

The Fifth Legion is an already existing special legion in the Syrian Army. If we want a different organization of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), we may have one or two different legions.

The Syrian Democratic Forces and other [local] security forces have more than 100,000 [members]; it [SDF] is a large force. They may be organized as two legions in the framework of the Syrian Army. I think Russian forces or Russians are not very clear in [their position on] this subject. They do not think like the Syrian regime, government. They do not want the military condition [of Syria] to be harmed or weak, and they do not want complications. But they do not have a clear position. Our meetings with them [Russians] continue [but] we have not reached a solution.

Have you had any serious talks with the Syrian government?

Our meetings with the Syrian government have definitely been serious since day one. I believe the meetings were in the interests of both sides – the Syrian government and us. We believe our meetings with the Syrian government since 2011 have been in the interests of both sides - Kurds and Syrian government - despite agreements and disagreements. The fact that the Syrian government has not been dissolved as an establishment was due to our meetings with the government [despite disagreements].

The Syrian government has to see this. The presence of the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish Freedom Movement in Western Kurdistan [Rojava] and all of Syria was one of the main reasons behind the fact that Syria is here today, and it prevented the terrorists and opponents, affiliated to foreign [countries], from achieving their goals. The Syrian government has to see this well. We believe the endeavor of the Syrian Democratic Forces and all the Kurdish Freedom Movement in Western Kurdistan has built a good basis for our future deal with the Syrian government.

You said that you have had talks with the Russians. Have you submitted any projects to the Russians, or discussed any projects with them?

We are currently working on a military project. As you know, after some US troops withdrew from some areas, there were gaps. The Turkish state wanted to invade these areas. To prevent the creation of these vacancies, we met with the Russians and our meetings continue. We have made deals on some military matters. As you know, there was an agreement between the Russian government and Turkish state. We had some reservations on this agreement. We see many articles [of the deal] as wrong. We discussed this a lot and we told them about our reservations. They noticed some things as well. We have made a military deal with the Russians to clarify how we must work together on preventing the Turkish invasion, on the mechanism of Russian troop presence, and on their coordination with us. These are clear and getting clearer. We do not have a problem in this regard and there is progress. However, there is no clarity in terms of politics. The Russian government is serious in launching a dialogue between us and Syria and reaching a deal.

Which points of the Russian-brokered deal did you protest the most? When you reported this to the Russians, how did they respond?

We basically had reservations that [the deal would make] our people defenseless. There is a danger that the deal could make our people defenseless, or the protection of Kurdish-populated areas would be in the hands of those who do not protect our people. Our people do not see this [force] as one of protection. This was the issue. We expressed our doubts in this regard and we said that we cannot hand over the protection of our people to foreigners or those who our people do not see are protectors. [We said that] we have to resolve this. This was practically resolved.

As per the deal, the SDF has to withdraw to a 32km depth southward except for Qamishli. I want to ask a question with a few parts. Have the SDF withdrawn from these areas, because Turkey claims that the SDF forces are still present in some areas? The deal also says there will be joint patrols by Turkey and Russian to a depth of 10km. Will the Autonomous Administration stay there or withdraw as well?

The US-Turkey deal was mostly on military affairs. It stipulates that the Syrian Democratic Forces must formally withdraw from these areas. I can say that this all took place. There is no military problem regarding implementation of the deal. As I said earlier, we should not leave our people defenseless and none of our areas must lack defense, I mean the essential defense, of our people. Currently, the Syrian Democratic Forces are stationed behind the 32km area. We and the Russians have agreed not to leave our people [Kurds] defenseless. The Autonomous Administration is not on the agenda [of withdrawal] and it will do its work as before.

Turkey says that the SDF forces are still in areas like Tal Rafaat and Ras al-Ain [Sari Kani] and that these forces have to withdraw; if not, Turkey will continue its operation. Have your forces withdrawn from Tal Rafaat and Ras al-Ain?

No, the Syrian Democratic Forces are not present in these areas. We can even say that there are no YPG [People’s Protection Units] and YPJ [Women’s Protection Units] fighters as well. The forces mentioned by Turkey are not there. They have not withdrawn because they have not been there at all - [because] since the invasion of Afrin [in March 2018], a new phase started there and new military forces were established. The forces present there coordinate with Russians and other present forces. They continue their work. I can confirm that these are neither Syrian Democratic Forces nor the YPG or YPJ. These are other forces and they continue their work.

Another force?

They have names. There are the Afrin Liberation Forces and others with different names, but they are not the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Let’s talk about the US. All the chaos began with the withdrawal of the US troops. The US President says that the ceasefire in Syria has been successful, but there is still fighting every day. I was in Tel Tamr yesterday and in recent days and there has been fighting. Was the ceasefire successful? What have you told the Americans?

No, the ceasefire was not a success. It was not implemented. The Turkish state did not respect the ceasefire for even an hour. It continues its attack. Their attacks continued even yesterday evening and this morning. There is shelling and their planes conduct airstrikes. They bombard our forces and those Syrian troops who are positioned between us and Turks. They attacked, captured and killed Syrian government troops. The Turkish state continues their attacks and say so publicly. They say: “We have progressed, taking this number of villages and areas.” Therefore, the US does not have accurate information. We have a joint operations cell with the Americans. They well know what I am saying is true. Their reports to their government says this, that the Turkish state does not respect the ceasefire and continues its attacks, killing civilians and conducting attacks, targeting everyone. This is clear, and it continues. We officially requested from the US, as the guarantor of their ceasefire deal with the Turks, that they to do their work to implement the economic sanctions on Turkey, even if they cannot stop them. The US have to stop the Turks by force now.

There are Syrian troops in Tel Tamr but they do not seem to have enough weapons to defend the areas they have been deployed to. Do you think they can defend these areas?

It is not the duty of Syrian troops to forcibly stop the Turks. They [deployed] weapons and preparations are not for this purpose. Their arrival here is a political one, rather than a military one. They have come based on the guarantee of Russia. Turks say that there are SDF forces there [on the border] and threaten to attack them. We made a deal with the Russians to [allow] the deployment of Syrian government’s troops to all bordering areas, not only Tel Tamr, and be positioned in front of the Turks. If the Turks respect their deal with the Russians, then they should not attack the Syrian regime forces. If they do not respect it, they will attack. Of course, the Syrian government is not at a level to militarily prevent the tanks and warplanes of the Turks. They do not mean to use force to stop them. However, it has a diplomatic and political role. If the deal is not implemented, the Russians have to be held responsible.

Tel Tamr is located within the safe zone. Will you withdraw from Tel Tamr? Why is the fighting different in Tel Tamr? Conflict continues there when it stops elsewhere, why?

The Turkish state’s goal is to control Tel Tamr because it is a strategic area and all roads pass through there. Tel Tamr is a smaller version of Syria. There are Kurds, Christians and Arabs. It is also known as a Christian city but there are other [ethnic and religious] groups as well. Therefore, it is important for us to focus on it. The Turkish state definitely wants to control it, so it targets it. It is outside the US-Turkey and Russia-Turkey deals. As per the deals, Turks have to stay outside the area. But Turks want to control there in order to impose their sovereignty. Therefore Turks have continued their attacks [against the city] for a long time to control it. Our forces have to defend the area to prevent its invasion. There are Syrian state troops as well but they are able to stop Turkish attacks by themselves. Therefore, our forces, and Assyrian and Syriac forces, have to help the Syrian government stop Turkish troops.

With their deals with Turkey to stop conflict in northern Syria not respected by Turkey - despite your commitment to the deals - what do you want to tell both the US and Russia?

This means the weakness in the positions of both the US and Russia. The US made a deal with the Turks and there had to be a 120-hour ceasefire. We withdrew our forces from Sari Kani [Ras al-Ain]. As per the deal, our forces had to stay where they were, except we had promised to withdraw to beyond the M4 international road. The forces in the west of Tel Abyad [Gire Spi] and the east of Sari Kani had to stop where were. The maps were drawn based on this. The maps were submitted to both the Americans and others in this way. It was agreed on like this. However, the Turkish state did not respect it. It has continued its attacks since that day [October 17]. The US is also aware of the Turkish violation [of the deal]. This is their [US and Russian] weakness and their lack of connection to the deal with the Turks. We tell them about this and they accept [admit] it. The US has a mechanism to stop this war. They say they will impose economic sanctions [against Turkey]. They have to impose sanctions to stop this war.

What is the US response when you tell them that their ally, Turkey, has violated the deal in relation to civilian casualties?

Their response is weak, proving the weakness of their position. They say: ’It is true and we see it too.’ Their troops, who are monitoring here, also see this. They [US] keep saying that they inform the Turkish state of this and press on them to stop it. [The US has also told us that they told Turkey] ‘If you do not stop we will impose economic sanctions.’ Their position is weak but the US can stop it if it desires.

Do you think these economic sanctions will make any change?

We believe that the US reaction should not be one of economic sanctions, but to use its pressure and tell the Turks ‘You cannot attack.’ A single word like ‘Do not attack’ from Trump to Erdogan would stop the attack. However, the US did not want its relations with Turkey to be harmed. They also did not want to harm its interests with Turkey. When comparing the interests of the Kurds and Turks, they chose Turkey. Therefore, they used economic sanctions which are also effective as the Turkish economy is very weak. If the sanctions passed by the [US]

Congress are implemented, Turkey will immediately stop [its attacks]. This is a criticism [from us] against the US. The Americans say that they will implement these sanctions if Turkey conducts a bigger attack, but the Turks are gradually progressing and attacking. They [US] do not see this as a reason to implement the sanctions. We always criticize them [US] on this. We tell them ‘because you have taken this path, Turkey violates the deal and continues it attacks, so you have to implement these sanctions as they would be enough for Turkish attacks to stop.’

Now, the US says that they want to return to Rojava in order to protect oilfields. They are also bringing tanks to Rojava. Is the US return only to protect oilfields? If yes, why would they need tanks? ISIS is not strong enough to control an oilfield.

In basic terms, the US decided three times to withdraw. President Trump was determined to withdraw forces, and they have already begun the withdrawal in Kobane, Manbij, Raqqa and in some parts of Tabqa. However, there was later great pressure on the Trump administration, such as opposition from Congress and the Senate. All our American friends, soldiers and politicians, oppose the Trump administration's [decision]. President Trump’s fame was at risk. Our friends from the coalition - France, Germany, UK and many others - also opposed it.

Most importantly, our forces resisted. They did not hand over the region to the Turks, as they wished. It was clear that a great conflict would take place and this issue would last long. As a result, the US will be held responsible. Particularly, there is the danger of the annihilation of Kurdish people in addition to demographic change. There could be ethnic cleansing. There is a great threat. These reasons greatly contributed to the creation of political and public pressure on US President Trump to reconsider his decision. Therefore, the US stepped back in its decision.

They kept their troops in the east of Syria for another project. The main reason behind [the US presence] is definitely not oil. Everyone knows the US does not need the oil. They say that this oil should not fall into the hands of Daesh [Islamic State], the Syrian regime or other forces. But everyone knows they should have remained. The [pressure from people] was the main reason behind US reconsideration [of the decision to withdraw]. We know the reason behind the US troops’ presence is not and will not be the oil. They are not related. There was a new [power] balance here. The Americans want to stay here to take part in the balance. They are also staying to lessen the pressure on the US administration.

However, we do not know how long this decision [to stay] will last. Our main belief is that we have never said we want US troops to stay here forever to protect us. We have not made such a demand from US troops or any other force. We say that those forces who have entered Syria, typically the US forces, have to stay here until there is a solution in Syria, a constitution is passed, and a new administration is established. Then, the work of these forces will end and they can withdraw. The right thing for the remaining forces - who have decided to withdraw three times - to say is ‘We are here and will stay until there is a solution in Syria, and all [ethnic and religious] groups in Syria reach a deal and agree on a constitution and establishment.’ This is our goal.

How many bases do the American forces have right now? Some of Rojava's officials have previously said that they want the US to clarify for what purpose it is remaining. Upon their third return, did you ask what them what their goal was? Or did you have your own analysis or guess of what their aim is? What I want to ask in another way is: is there a guarantee that US forces won't abruptly leave again?

Yes we had meetings with the Americans. We spoke about this topic. This was the only topic [we discussed]. The reason why the Americans remain is clear. Their reason for staying is for 8 specific objectives, as they see it. I don't want to list them. They have told us why they remain, where they would be posted and how long they will stay. This was done based on an agreement with our forces. They withdrew from some areas, such as Manbij, Tabqa, and in areas in the west of our region. They have a force remaining in Kobane, and that force hasn't withdrawn. In other areas in the east of Syria, in Deir ez-Zor up to Simalka [border crossing], they remain posted in their previous positions. They will also build new bases in new locations, like Derik and some other areas. They will be based there. The positioning of US troops will be reconsidered and based on their objectives. As I said earlier, their military presence is clear. Their movements will be made in coordination with our forces, not independently. They continue on some of their previous objectives, such as assisting our forces in protecting Daesh prisons and camps. They want to continue with some assistance programs for the people of the region. Another reason is to train the Syrian Democratic Forces. Assistance to the Syrian Democratic Forces will continue. The partnership in the fight against Daesh will continue. Concerning the airspace, US forces will again establish air control over some areas. And also, a new objective is to protect the oil wells.

Amidst all this, is there an American political promise to make you happy? I mean, has America this time given you a political promise that it will assist the Syrian Democratic Forces militarily? Some days ago, I believe it was Ilham Ahmed [head of Syrian Democratic Council's Executive Council] who had asked for the US to at least establish a no fly zone over Rojava's airspace against the air forces of other countries, like Turkey. Is there anything regarding this?

In the political sphere, we are critical of America's stance. They have been here for five years, and we have been criticizing this aspect. Our criticism of the US continues. The US has only undertaken a military mission, rather than a political one. This is worthy of criticism. As you know, there are the Geneva Talks to resolve the Syrian problem on an international level. We say there are international efforts. We asked them [the US] for the representatives of North and East of Syria to be also part of the solution process, for Americans to exercise pressure. They have given some promises, but in practice, they haven't kept their word. These are all worthy of criticism, and we will continue our criticism until they execute their duty in the political dimension.

General, you spoke of the international talks and agreements. Let me ask my final question about America's stance in this regard. What promises have they given you to help you or insist on the SDF having representatives in the talks?

You mean the international talks?

Yes.

They have promised that some representatives of the North and East of Syria have seats both on the [Syrian] Constitutional Committee and at the talks taking place in Geneva. But they haven't done as they have promised. Thus, we exercise pressure on them to implement their promise.

What roles can Kurdish parties play in talks such as your talks with Damascus?

Actually, there is such a condition where we speak to everyone and take their opinion. We have even reached some military agreements. We, as the Syrian Democratic Forces, want our negotiations with America, Russia, or the central government in Damascus to include the Kurdish parties of Rojava as well. Recently, we met with every Kurdish party in Rojava. We got their opinion, and we also asked them to establish unity among themselves to work with the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Today, in Rojava, we are amidst what we call a historical, sensitive phase. It is possible for us to head towards an enduring agreement, or it is possible we could lose the achievements of the revolution. Things could go either way, since the phase is very sensitive. At this time, we call on Syrian Kurdish political parties to establish unity, to standby the Syrian Democratic Forces, for us to struggle together so that we come out successful for our people at the end of this phase. The stance of all the parties was positive, so we now hope they will take practical steps to establish a practical unity so that we work together. I would like to say some things, including to Southern Kurdistan (Kurdistan Region) as it also has a role to play. Truth to be told, the stance of the people of Southern Kurdistan in this phase was very positive. Our [Kurdish] people in all of the cities of Southern Kurdistan went out in support to the SDF against the invasion of the Turkish state. They declared their stance [of rejecting the Turkish invasion]. They boycotted the economy of Turkey [Turkish products]. They warmly welcomed [the boycott].

Through this medium, I would like to send my regards for everything that has been done there [in the Kurdistan Region]. It makes us proud and elated. The stance of the [Kurdistan] Regional Government, the Regional Administration, was also positive, supporting the resistance of the SDF, the struggle taking place here for Rojava. There was a strong support. We thank them for that. However, we do want to say that the threat has not been removed. There still is a threat against Western Kurdistan [Rojava]. The Turkish State's aim is not to just destroy the achievements of the Revolution. It publicly says it wants to have Kurds expelled from the area. For us it is necessary for the support to continue, for the support to get even stronger. Weakness in Western Kurdistan also means weakness in Southern Kurdistan. It will negatively affect the South. Western Kurdistan being strong also makes Southern Kurdistan strong. We hope that the support becomes even stronger than before so that we may be able to achieve our aim, which is to protect the achievements of the revolution in Western Kurdistan. Southern Kurdistan can play a role in the unity of the political movement in Western Kurdistan, especially President [Masoud] Barzani.

We hope the administration of Southern Kurdistan [Kurdistan Region], especially President Barzani, can do their part in this regard in the sphere of the unity of the Kurdish political parties of Rojava, for us to settle on this, so that we are also able to make the resistance stronger so that both threats against our people eliminated, the threat of eradicating the Kurdish people in Rojava, and so that we are also able to obtain our rights.

What should Southern Kurdistan and its political parties do to stop war or create unity among Kurds?

The people of Kurdistan Region have done a lot, which is appreciated, and this has to be expanded and continued so the world would see that Kurds are united. The Rojava issue is not only related to a special party, but all Kurds. That’s why the positions of the three other parts of Kurdistan, especially Southern Kurdistan, is crucial. Therefore their stance should be stronger and continued. The Kurdistan Region’s authority has a good place in world diplomacy; they have relationships with many others. We know they have, to some extent, played their part in supporting the people of Rojava. But this has to be stronger and constant, to remove threats. There are some political parties [in Rojava] which listen to Southern Kurdistan. We have to bring unity to Rojava’s political parties. Therefore, Southern Kurdistan can play a great role for Rojava’s unity.

Let’s talk a little bit about ISIS. You had a major part to play in locating Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi, and later in his death. There have been many questions about it, which I don’t want to repeat. I want to ask you a question. If America had not been able to take part in the operation because of their troop withdrawal, or any other reason, and you had this information about Baghdadi’s location, what could you do alone? What was in your mind at that time?

This was a joint operation, neither we nor America were able to do it alone. We had to unite in order for the operation to work. Honestly speaking, we knew where Abubakir Al- Baghdadi was and where his house was. We had been assessing it on the ground. But in order to capture him we needed a large army and a strong military technique, we needed an army like the US with whom to do it. That is why if America had withdrawn, the operation would not have been possible.

There was another argument that said the operation was delayed because of Trump's decision to withdraw American troops. Is that true? The US withdrawal led to his death rather than him being arrested. Is that true too?

No, the withdrawal decision led to the war between us and Turks. This delayed the operation because those fighters who were surveying him went to fight the Turks. This postponed the operation. There were also areas that needed to be assessed by the Americans for the operation to be conducted. They did not withdraw from some areas as they [areas] were part of this operation. The decision to withdraw US troops had its impact on the operation.

My last question, how did you find him? Other groups in the area also have beliefs as radical as those of ISIS. Why did no other groups come to help Baghdadi?

This is an intelligence issue, I can’t say everything. But it was a great victory that we were able to send our people to locate Baghdadi and surveil him. I want to tell you that we didn’t only see him in that place, but also in another place. We knew he was there. When we took his clothes, he was not in the place [where he was killed], but somewhere else. It was the place where he lived before moving to Idlib. There, we were able to have access to some of his things, to verify that it was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi himself staying there. We brought his blood from Idlib. Our person who worked there was able to bring his blood. We made sure once again that this was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi himself. This is an intelligence mission and it produced great success. The US intelligence and forces at their highest levels thanked our friends who worked on this mission. This was an important thing.

Why didn’t you do any operations at his previous location?

There was no chance [to get] Baghdadi before he moved [to Idlib. We did not inform them [US] about [Baghdadi’s] first location. It was kept [a secret] among our intelligence and SDF. By the time we confirmed it was him, he moved to Idlib. Later we and the Americans attacked him.

Translation by Karwan Faidhi Dri

https://www.rudaw.net/english/interview/07112019

[Anthea]

Turkish Occupation Patrol
kills a civilian in Dirk



A young civilian from the countryside of Dirk was martyred during a fight with a group of citizens on the Turkish-Russian patrol today in northern and eastern Syria where a Turkish military vehicle ran over him.

Young gole ali was among the parents who called the patrol to condemn and condemn because of the Turkish occupiers entering Syrian territory.
More than ten other people were injured by tear gas released by the patrol on citizens, mostly women and children.

The Director of the information office of the democratic forces of Syria (Mustafa Bali) confirmed that the Turkish military vehicle :" ran over a civilian in front of the eyes of the Russian military police