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Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Mar 08, 2020 11:14 pm

A voice for women
in Idlib's warzone


On International Women’s Day, issues like the gender pay gap, maternity leave, and women in management positions are not on the table in Syria. Women are barely part of the conversation when it comes to daily reports of the war: Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced out of their homes as malnourished children freeze to death on the borders

Behind the bedlam are women that have a voice of their own – but it sometimes takes hard work to make sure that they are heard. Merna al-Hasan is one of the people making sure that happens.

Armed with a camera and microphone, Merna’s job takes her out to see things men don’t see. She seeks to elevate the voices of civilians – especially women – in her war-torn city.

In one of her reports, Merna stands next to a snow-covered tent in one of the crowded refugee camps that are constantly expanding in Idlib. She’s reporting on cases of children who’ve frozen to death in the camps, speaking to residents, and addressing the camera directly as she points to the frozen laundry hanging on a clothesline between the tents: “Even the laundry is frozen, so imagine the kids – people in the camp have the right to warmth.”

Merna, an Idlib native, is also stuck among the 3 million refugees – many of whom were displaced from other cities – besieged in the final rebel-held province, making her passionate and authentic.

There are many women journalists working in Idlib – usually assisting from behind the scenes. Merna is unique because she is the only female journalist native of Idlib to appear in front of the camera, presenting her own news reports.

Idlib has been under a crippling onslaught by Syrian and Russian forces since December when Assad moved to take the last rebel held slice of Syria. Nearly one million people have fled their homes in under three months, with the final battle for Idlib seeing the largest wave of displacement in Syria since the beginning of the war. A tenuous ceasefire brokered by rebel backer Turkey and Assad ally Russia has briefly delayed the inevitable, but as the Syrian regime advances, showing no commitment to perennial ceasefires, Merna’s life is as much in danger as those she is reporting on.

“What inspired me to report was our suffering, as free people who demand the right to dignity and life in the face of repression and weapons,” Merna told Rudaw English. “Pain can be an inspiration, as can the hope of living a life full of dignity.”

It is dangerous to report in Idlib as a media activist, let alone be a woman. Her work is not only made difficult by the rebel factions who restrict journalists and impose their control on Idlib, nor the Russian and Syrian warcraft flying overhead. The rigid patriarchal society of Syria has long held a rigid mentality that doesn’t accept her doing journalism — a “man’s job.”

“I get threats every day saying they want to rape, kill, and come after me and my family,” Merna told Rudaw English

She recently endured sexist harassment online after an elected member of the Syrian parliament for Aleppo, Fares Shehabi, tweeted a photo of Merna, claiming that an “al-Qaeda journalist” was raped by 4 terrorists, and shrugging it off as “the fate of anyone who betrays their country.”

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the sexist insults in a statement. “Delighting in a journalist’s supposed rape and constantly using her gender to attack her work is intolerable,” said Sabrina Bennoui, head of RSF’s Middle East desk. “The polarization of the media in Syria is resulting in spiteful and degrading smears and, in this case, attacks on a woman’s morality.”

Merna simply brushed off the rumors, posting on Facebook: "Another day, another rumor."

Syria had always ranked near the bottom in global indices of gender inequality and press freedom even before the war, which has worsened the situation of both. In Syria, few men encourage female family members to work. But Merna’s brother was different. Merna recalls she used to drive her in his car to go do interviews and encouraged her to do journalism and get out of the house. She recently lost that crucial backbone of support when her brother was killed in the bombardment in February.

Merna says that on International Women’s Day, she’ll be working instead of celebrating. Despite these challenges, Merna considers it even more important to keep on doing journalism in one of the most patriarchal and hostile environments in the world.

“The courage to do this is by itself an achievement in our society’s standards,” Merna told Rudaw English. “I challenged those customs and changed the way they [men] think of it, and eventually they’ll start to encourage me and respect me.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... erna-hasan
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:37 am

Turkey expects NATO support

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expects “concrete support” from NATO over the ongoing situation in northwest Syria , he told the alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg in a Monday visit to Brussels

“NATO is in a critical process in which it needs to clearly show its solidarity…without discrimination and without laying down political conditions,” he added, urging that other member states support Turkey “without further delay.”

The recent clashes between Turkish army and Syrian regime forces in the Syrian northwestern province of Idlib - which resulted in the deaths of scores of soldiers from both sides - was followed by a decision by Ankara to no longer prevent millions of refugees in Turkey, mostly Syrians, from trying to enter Europe.

Chaos ensued as thousands flocked to the borders, hoping to cross to Europe by land or sea. Greek border forces responded with tear gas, water cannons and live ammunition- killing a Syrian refugee last Monday.

Stoltenberg praised Ankara’s role as an “important ally” contributing to regional security, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.

“Allies are prepared to continue to support Turkey and explore what more to do,” AA quoted Stoltenberg as saying.

Erdogan also met with senior European Union officials in Brussels on Monday evening to discuss the fresh wave of migrants and refugees attempting to cross into Europe from Turkey.

The one-day visit to Belgium follows an invitation from Charles Michel, president of the European Council, who met with Erdogan on March 4 in Ankara.

Erdogan and Michel had a “frank and necessary” meeting last week covering several issues, including the “migration situation on the EU’s sea and land borders and the crisis in Syria,” according to a statement from Michel’s office.

A 2016 deal between Turkey and European Union had obliged Ankara to strengthen its borders with European countries in order to prevent the flow of the refugees there. However, Ankara has claimed that the EU has not adhered to the deal, failing to pay it six billion euros and compensate it with the $40 billion it claims it has spent on refugees for years.

Around 3.6 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey.

EU ambassadors last week described Erdogan’s recent threats to send millions of refugees to Europe and the opening of borders with Greece as a move to “blackmail” the bloc, Reuters reported.

However, Erdogan blasted Athens for blaming Ankara for recent events.

"It is irrational and inconsiderate that an ally and a neighbouring country put the finger of blame on Turkey for the irregular migration," he said on Monday.

"We will not allow this country to try to get unfair gains by abusing the current situation and the European Union, “ he added.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/09032020
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Mar 14, 2020 2:32 pm

Turkey, Russia agree
on Idlib ceasefire


Turkey and Russia have agreed on the details of a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib region after four days of talks in Ankara, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday. Joint patrols along a key highway will begin on Sunday as planned, Reuters quoted Akar as saying

Ankara and Moscow, which back opposing sides in Syria’s war, agreed on March 5 to halt hostilities in the country’s northwest.

Under the agreement, Turkish and Russian forces will carry out joint patrols along the M4 highway linking Syria’s east and west, and establish a security corridor on either side of it. A Russian delegation arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to work out details.

“The text that was prepared was signed by both sides and is now in effect. We will see its first application with the joint patrols on March 15,” Akar said, according to Anadolu news agency.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/483050-turk ... ceasefire/
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sat Mar 14, 2020 2:41 pm

OOPS!

They forgot to ask the

KURDS what they want to happen on KURDISH LAND
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Mar 15, 2020 12:38 pm

Syria's brutal war on Kurds

Syria's brutal conflict with Kurds enters its tenth year Sunday with President Bashar al-Assad's regime consolidating its hold over a war-wracked country with a decimated economy where foreign powers flex their muscle

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When Syrians took to the streets on March 15, 2011, they could scarcely have imagined their anti-government protests would turn into a complex war entangling rebels, jihadists and outside forces.

At least 384,000 people have since died, including more than 116,000 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Saturday.

The conflict has displaced more than 11 million people internally and abroad.

"Nine years of revolution illustrate the extent of the suffering we have known, between exile, bombings and deaths," said Hala Ibrahim, a rights activist who now lives in the town of Dana, in Idlib province.

"I left my university, my house which was bombed," the woman in her 30s said. "We've lost everything."

Originally from the northern city of Aleppo, Ibrahim left in late 2016 after the regime retook rebel-held areas and she sought refuge in Idlib.

The northwestern region -- Syria's last rebel stronghold -- is the regime's latest target.

Thanks to the military support of Russia, Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Assad has clawed back control of over 70 percent of the war-torn country.

A fragile ceasefire came into effect in the northwest earlier this month, and Turkish and Russian officials have agreed to start joint patrols in Idlib.

Syrian forces and Russian warplanes have heavily bombarded the region since December, killing nearly 500 civilians, the Observatory says, and forcing nearly a million to flee, according to the United Nations.

'Ruin and misery'

Siham Abs and seven of her children have been living for the past two months in a camp for Idlib's displaced near Bardaqli, not far from the Turkish border.

Many of those unable to find space in camps have been sleeping in fields or have sought shelter in schools, mosques and unfinished buildings.

In the Bardaqli camp, tents made of plastic sheeting are lined up along muddy paths.

Abs said she and her family would like to wash, but don't know where. "I am 50 years old and I've never known such difficult times," she said.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on the eve of the anniversary: "The suffering of the Syrian people during this tragic and terrible decade still defies comprehension and belief."

The Syrian conflict was born of unprecedented anti-government demonstrations in the southern city of Daraa nine years ago.

Protests spread across Syria, but a violent crackdown soon saw rebels take up arms with backing from Gulf nations and wrest key areas from government control.

Jihadist groups also emerged, notably the Islamic State group which swept across large parts of the country and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.

"A decade of fighting has brought nothing but ruin and misery," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote this week on Twitter.

"There is no military solution. Now it is the time to give diplomacy a chance to work."

But in recent years, such efforts have failed.

Five foreign powers operate in Syria, with Russia and Iranian forces supporting the regime.

Despite an announced withdrawal of US forces last year, American troops are still stationed in the country's northeast, in a semi-autonomous Kurdish zone.

After the fight against IS, Washington's main objective has turned to curbing Iranian influence.

'$400 billion in destruction'

Israel regularly carries out air strikes on Syrian, Hezbollah and Iranian military positions.

And neighbouring Turkey, which supports local armed groups, has deployed its troops across the border.

"The horrific and enduring nature of the conflict is proof of a collective failure of diplomacy," Pedersen said.

The war has ravaged Syria's economy and infrastructure.

The United Nations estimated in 2018 that the conflict had caused nearly $400 billion in war-related destruction.

"Basic services, hospitals and schools need to be rebuilt" across the country, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday.

"Houses and land need to be cleared of unexploded ammunition. Jobs and other sources of income need to be created and maintained."

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/15032020
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:10 am

There is nothing now:
People in Idlib fear end near


“There’s nothing now. Nothing at all,” said Yasser Aboud, as he looked away from his family’s few remaining belongings, dumped on the floor of the bare single room that would now be their home in the northwest Syrian city of Idlib

It was a far cry from the house, the farm, and the job that he, his wife and three children left behind two months ago, fleeing their hometown just 15 kilometers (9 miles) down the road as it was overwhelmed by Syrian government troops in furious fighting. He managed to salvage some jerrycans of olives, a few rugs, cushions and pots and pans, and his motorbike. They sold their washing machine and some of his wife’s gold.

Now they were moving into an apartment in a district full of buildings shattered by government bombardment. He and his wife and three kids will share the place with over a dozen relatives. They’re jobless in a city teeming with thousands of others displaced like them — and they are hardly out of danger.

The city of Idlib is the last urban area still under opposition control in Syria, located in a shrinking rebel enclave in the northwestern province of the same name. Syria’s civil war, which entered its 10th year on Monday, has shrunk in geographical scope — focusing on this tiny corner of the country — but the misery wreaked by the conflict has not diminished.

A bloodier and possibly more disastrous phase is on the horizon if government forces, backed by Russia and Iran, go ahead with threats to recapture Idlib city and the remaining rebel-held north, crammed with over 3 million people.

Over the past three months, government troops recaptured nearly half of Idlib province and surrounding areas, forcing nearly 1 million to flee their homes, around half of them into other parts of the province, including Idlib city. During the advances, government forces neared Idlib city outskirts, bombing parts and sending thousands fleeing north.

“I feel everything has ended, and this is a final migration, not displacement,” Aboud said. “I feel let down by the world.”

The government offensive has been paused by a Russian-Turkish cease-fire deal, leaving residents of the rebel enclave, including Idlib city, in a state of terrifying limbo. They are skeptical that the cease-fire will last and well aware they are likely the next target of the government’s assault.

Though government airstrikes have hit it regularly, the city has suffered far less violence than other places since 2015, when rebels seized it from government forces. Over the years since, multiple waves of displaced people flowed in, from other opposition areas further south retaken by the government, and now more from other parts of Idlib.

The Associated Press traveled to Idlib on a trip arranged through Turkish authorities. Its team, like other journalists who have been into the enclave recently, was escorted by members of a media outfit linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an al-Qaida-linked group that dominates the area.

Driving into Idlib city, the AP team witnessed the scale of the displacement. Dozens of tents lined the main road into the city. Other families were crammed into bombed out buildings, the city’s stadium or unfinished construction sites. Shops have sprung around the enclave bearing the names of different cities and towns in Syria — a testimony and a token to the homes they left behind.

The city has been shaped by the different layers of conflict. Many city streets are clean and well maintained by the opposition administration. But on other streets, buildings are in ruins — some wrecked in previous fighting, others bombed during the most recent offensive. Residents can point out buildings and remember the date they were hit. The city gets only two hours of electricity a day, and Aboud said he chose to buy bread over more power from generators.

If President Bashar Assad resumes the government offensive, everything here will be vulnerable.

In past advances, the government’s tactic was to bombard urban areas relentlessly — including with Russian warplanes — flattening residential areas and pummeling the population into submission. Residents, opposition activists and fighters were offered the choice either to stay under “reconciliation” deals or be evacuated to the rebel-held north.

In Idlib, the residents overwhelmingly fear living under government rule but have nowhere else to run, with Turkey refusing to open its border wall to more refugees.

Aboud said it was out of the question for him to accept “reconciliation.” Holding his 2-year-old twins by the hand, he said his family fled his hometown of Saraqeb “not fearing death but fearing to be under the rule of Assad again.”

He took part in the early anti-government protests in 2011 and was detained for it; two of his brothers were shot and killed by government forces in 2012; his mother-in-law was killed in an airstrike the same year.

If Assad captures Idlib, “we will run to Turkey, we will sleep under the (border) wall,” Aboud said. “The most crucial thing is that we won’t enter territories” held by the government.

Turkey has deployed thousands of troops in the enclave, operating alongside its Syrian opposition allies. That has diminished the lock on power that the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has held over Idlib since it drove out rival factions in past fighting.

Mustafa Berro, a commander of a Turkey-backed rebel faction from Aleppo that has now sent forces to Idlib, said his fighters have not lost faith.

“We are worse off than in 2014” — when rebels held nearly half of Syria — “but we are better off than 2011” when they had no territory to control, he said. “We still have an area to work from and operate in.”

The massive displacement of past weeks has strained international aid deliveries into the enclave, where 1.5 million receive food assistance. In January alone, 1,227 trucks were sent across the border from Turkey, the largest number in seven years of cross-border operations, said UN Assistant Secretary of State Kevin Kennedy, who is also regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria.

The cease-fire has allowed deliveries to increase, but Kennedy warned that resumption of hostilities in the densely populated urban area would mean more displacement. “The needs are so enormous, the gaps will always be there unfortunately,” he said.

At Idlib’s Central Hospital, Abdullah AlHassan lay in a bed in excruciating pain. He lost both legs last week when he went back to his village, Afes, to inspect the home he had fled and stepped on a mine planted in the house. His hand was also bandaged and his face full of cuts.

Afes, on the strategic highway that was the government’s first main objective in its offensive, was all but destroyed and totally deserted, he said. His house had been looted, even metal wires stripped out. The carnage will be similar if the offensive hits Idlib city, he said.

“No one can stay once such an attack comes. Everyone must leave. If anyone stays, (government forces) won’t spare him.”

In the center of Idlib city, nearly 90 displaced families found refuge in a deserted prison. They fled here from Maaret al-Numan, a key town in Idlib that fell to government forces in January.

“We couldn’t afford rent. We opened the door of the prison and we came in,” said Hossam Ajjaj, member of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army who was among the first to move in with his family.

Families, men and women, live on top of each other in the prison rooms, divided into sleeping, cooking and bathing areas by hung sheets and blankets, giving a deceptive sense of privacy.

Fida, 44, and her 20-year old daughter Heba share the same room with 11 other relatives. On the day the AP visited, they were stuffing zucchini and eggplants in their living area, where they also cook and bathe — taking turns keeping watch to ensure no one intrudes. A younger brother of Heba who lost a foot in a war injury slept in the room behind the “kitchen.” A baby with Down syndrome slept in his cradle next to the women cooking.

They had long resisted fleeing their home, just outside Maaret al-Numan. Early in the war, when Heba was 12, they left for six months, but returned. Earlier in 2019, they were displaced for 20 days but again went back. When the Syrian army advanced on Maaret al-Numan in December, they moved into caves just next to their home, hoping it was again just temporary.

When an airstrike hit just outside the cave, they knew they had to leave. They gave up their large farm growing olives and grapes to live crammed in a prison.

“We don’t like the word displacement,” Fida said. Her daughter added: “It’s shameful. We like our hometown.”

Heba said she can’t forget a single day since 2011 — every day marked by violence and loss. She worried about her children, a 3- and a 2-year-old, and can’t let them go outside because of airstrikes.

“We sleep in fear,” she said. “I don’t imagine there will be a future. I don’t imagine this will be settled with us alive.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/16032020
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Mar 17, 2020 11:19 pm

Kurdish population in
Afrin down 18 percent


In March 2018 Afrin was occupied by the Turkish state. The human rights organization of Afrin has presented a report on the violations of rights during the past two years. The report was publicly read out by Heyhan Ali in the Serdem camp in Shehba

According to the report, more than 300,000 people from Afrin were displaced by the Turkish invasion to the neighbouring canton of Shehba and other places in Syria. The Kurdish population in Afrin has dropped to 18 percent. In the course of the demographic change, jihadists from Idlib and other areas were settled with their families in Afrin.

Turkification policy

Heyhan Ali explained that the "Turkification policy" is being further advanced in Afrin. Places and streets have been given Turkish names. For example, the Kawa crossroads, whose name refers to the Kawa the Blacksmith from the Newroz myth, has been renamed Olive Branch Crossroads. "Olive branch" was the name Turkey had given to its invasion two years ago, which was contrary to international law. Today, Turkish language classes are given in schools in Afrin. According to the report, the new school uniforms represent "the Turkish culture". Pictures of Turkish President Erdogan hang in many places. Turkish identity cards are being forced upon the people in Afrin.

6,200 people kidnapped

In Afrin, according to the human rights organisation, 6,200 people have been forcibly abducted. The fate of 3,400 abduction victims is unknown.

Attacks against women

Women are particularly affected by the occupation regime in Afrin. The human rights organisation has documented 61 cases of attacks against women. The suicide rate of women has also increased since the occupation. Three women have committed suicide after being attacked by jihadists.

553 civilians killed

According to the report, 553 civilians have been killed by direct attacks of the Turkish state and its jihadist proxies. 55 of the victims were tortured to death.

200,000 olive trees cut down

The report states that not only the civilian population and their property are affected by the systematic attacks, but also nature and historical and sacred sites. Heyhan Ali stated that over 200,000 olive trees have been cut down and 11,000 hectares of cultivated land burned: "The green nature of Afrin has become a desert. The tree trunks were brought to Turkey for recycling.

75 historical sites plundered

75 historical sites have been looted by the occupying forces, according to the report. Dozens of mosaics were removed. In addition, 15 graves, which were sacred to various religious communities, were destroyed.

Before the eyes of the world public

Heyhan Ali concluded by pointing out that these crimes take place in front of the eyes of the world public. The human rights organisation called on the UN to fulfil its responsibility and to remove the Turkish state with its jihadist proxies from Syria.
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Mar 17, 2020 11:25 pm

Turkey cut down 200 trees in Afrin

The Turkish army and allied mercenaries continue committing human rights violations and destroying nature in occupied Afrin territory

According to local sources, the occupation forces have cut down at least 200 trees in Gaze and Mezin villages of Afrin.

Reports say that the Turkish-backed mercenaries are transporting these trees to Turkey to sell them as firewood to be used in winter.

According to Afrin Human Rights Organization, the occupation forces have cut down more than 200,000 olive trees in the Afrin region since it was invaded.

According to the recorded data, 3 to 5 million trees were plundered by the invaders who also set fire to an agricultural land of 11 thousand hectares

Only 160 are left of the total 300 olive plants in Afrin after its occupation. The Turkish state held these plants to ransom, causing a significant decrease in the soap production in the canton. A 25 percent decrease has been recorded in the production of commercial products.

Afrin has been under the occupation of the Turkish state and its mercenary allies for two years now. The attacks of the Turkish state against Afrin began on 20 January 2018 and the invasion of the city was carried out on 18 March 2018.

Since the invasion, war crimes have been systematically committed in the region. Almost every day, crimes such as the confiscation of property belonging to local people, kidnapping of civilians for ransom, torture or executions are carried out.
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Mar 31, 2020 10:31 pm

Turkey using water as weapon
in Western Kurdistan


Turkey’s control of water facilities in Western Kurdistan is impeding the fight against COVID-19, Human Rights Watch reported on Monday

Turkish-backed forces seized Allouk water station in October 2019 during Operation Peace Spring, designed to push Kurdish-led forces from the area. Located near the town of Sari Kani (Ras al Ain), 460,000 people in Hasakah governorate have since lost their main supply of water, including those in displacement camps.

“Turkish authorities' failure to ensure adequate water supplies to Kurdish-held areas in Western Kurdistan is compromising humanitarian agencies' ability to prepare and protect vulnerable communities in the COVID-19 pandemic,” the US-based monitor said in a statement accusing Turkey of “weaponising water.”

The “repeated interruptions” to water supply have made encouraging basic hygiene measures to stem the spread of the virus, such as hand-washing, extremely difficult, according to NGOs in the area.

The lack of water is also exacerbating unsanitary conditions in the region’s displacement camps, making them a hotbed for a potential coronavirus outbreak.

“Human Rights Watch has documented dire conditions in these camps, including overflowing latrines, sewage trickling into tattered tents, and residents drinking wash water from tanks containing worms. These conditions are likely to be exacerbated with the water supplies cut off,” the statement added.

UNICEF warned last week that civilians in Western Kurdistan are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 due to the disruption to local water supplies.

“The interruption of water supply during the current efforts to curb the spread of the Coronavirus disease puts children and families at unacceptable risk," Fran Equiza, the agency's representative in Syria, said in a statement.

"Water and water facilities must not be used for military or political gains,” he added.

Syria has 10 confirmed cases of the virus - much lower than neighbouring countries.

However, UN officials have added that reports from Damascus are “the tip of the iceberg.”

“All efforts to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19 are impeded by Syria’s fragile health system, by high levels of population movement, challenges to obtaining critical supplies, including protective equipment and ventilators, and by the practical difficulties of implementing isolation and protective measures in areas of displacement,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock.

With the country still embroiled in conflict after years of civil war, many have called for a nationwide ceasefire to counter the contagious virus.

“We need cooperation to take place across the front-lines that riddle Syria’s territory. This is not needed tomorrow but NOW,” said UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Monday.

“Syria is at high risk of being unable to contain the pandemic,” he added.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/31032020
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Fri Apr 10, 2020 4:05 am

29,000 Turkish troops
stationed in Idlib


On March 5, the Turkish state and Russia had agreed a ceasefire for Idlib. Part of the conditions included the establishment of a jointly patrolled "protection zone" and Turkey's action against its allied jihadist militias, such as the Al-Qaeda branch Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as well as the end of all military activities. Although more than a month has passed since then, Turkey does not fulfil the conditions and instead uses the global political focus on the Covid-19 pandemic to strengthen its position in the Idlib region of north-western Syria

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has good connections with armed "opposition" forces in Syria, reports that the total number of military positions of the Turkish state in Idlib has risen to 57. In 2017, the Turkish state had already established twelve so-called observation points, as agreed in the Astana Agreement. According to sources in the region, the number of Turkish military bases in the region is much higher. Contrary to the agreement in Astana, jihadists, including the HTS, are supplied via the military bases and enjoy shelter there. The Turkish secret service MIT also maintains a number of bases in the region.

The Observatory reports that since February 2 until today another 5,745 Turkish soldiers have been transferred to Idlib. This means that a total of 29,000 Turkish troops are now in the region. Since the beginning of February, more than 5,000 armoured personnel carriers, tanks and howitzers have also been brought into the region.

Stronger than the occupation of Cyprus

If you add the number of Turkish militiamen, the strength of the occupying power in Idlib exceeds that in Cyprus, which was 35,000 at the time of the invasion. Due to the Turkish military movements, overflights by the Russian air force have now also increased.

All points of the agreement broken

The first point of the agreement of 5 March, the cessation of all military activities, was broken by Turkey. The other two conditions, the security corridor along the M4 motorway and the start of joint patrols in the security corridor, were also not implemented. Even before he travelled to Moscow, Erdoğan had announced the annexation with the words that it was "inevitable that Idlib will receive a new status".

No action against jihadist militias

Putin had also demanded that Turkey should not allow "any weakening of the fight against international terrorism". In doing so, Putin was referring to Turkish support for jihadist militias such as the HTS in Idlib. Nevertheless, Turkey did not take any action against such groups, it did not even stop actively supporting them.

US as guarantor for a permanent Turkish presence

The Turkish state is aware that NATO and the US are the only guarantee for Turkey to remain in the region permanently. In February, the US and NATO had promised Turkey support under the condition that it would refrain from using the Russian S-400 air defence system.
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:55 pm

Tension between Turkish
troops and al-Nusra in Idlib


Tensions arose between Turkish troops and al-Nusra (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS) mercenaries before the patrol mission set to take place on M4 highway in Idlib region as part of agreement made between the Turkish state and Russia in Moscow

According to reports, a large number of civilians gathered near the town of Nairab and protested against the patrol mission of the Turkish army and Russian forces on Aleppo-Latakia (M4) highway.

Tensions increased after Turkey dispatched police forces to the scene where al-Nusra then deployed armed men before the Turkish police teams.

While the patrol did not take place because of tension, al-Nusra groups opened fire into the air with DShK and heavy weapons.

Al-Nusra groups and civilians shouted at the Turkish police, saying; “This is not Turkey, do not swing your baton”.

HTS members and civilians closed the road and did not allow the patrol to take place and protested against Turkish troops, saying “Get out of here. This is our land.”

In the wake of clashes in Idlib in February, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan went to Moscow and asked for a ceasefire from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The agreement signed by Putin with Erdoğan at the feet of Catherine the Great included the following:

    Cessation of all military activities in Idlib from March 6,

    Formation of a security corridor 6 km north and 6 km south of the Aleppo-Latakia (M4) highway,

    Start of Turkish-Russian joint patrols along the security corridor from March 15.
The Moscow agreement was followed by a partial ceasefire in the region but none of the articles of agreement has been implemented so far.
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:27 pm

Up to 1.2 million people
left without water


In response to a written question by the member of parliament Evrim Sommer, the German Government stated that up to 1.2 million people are affected by the interruption of the water supply by the Turkish occupation forces in Western Kurdistan

The Turkish occupying forces repeatedly interrupt the water supply to large parts of northern Syria by bombing water pipes in a targeted manner and shutting down the occupied waterworks in the northern Syrian town of Elok (Alouk) east of Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain).

German Left Party (DIE LINKE) MP Helin Evrim Sommer asked the Federal Government about its knowledge of this practice. The Federal Government answered that, to its knowledge between 700,000 and 1.2 million people are affected by the water closures. These are in particular the inhabitants of the cities of Hesekê and Til Temir, the Eriş and Washokani refugee camps, where internally displaced persons from the occupied territories live, and the Hol camp, where thousands of ISIS families are accommodated.

The German Government warns of "serious humanitarian consequences", especially against the current pandemic.
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Apr 22, 2020 9:57 pm

Turkey deploys
thousands of jihadists


The fact that Turkey does not turn away from its warmongering and authoritarian policies even in times of a pandemic can be observed again in Northern Syria

For days, there has been a deployment of jihadists and their families in the cities of Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain) and Girê Spî (Tal Abyad), which have been occupied since last October. In the last week alone, a convoy of about 600 vehicles of mercenaries of the proxy force "Syrian National Army" (SNA) under the protection of armored vehicles from Jarablus crossed the border to Turkey via Antep in order to be brought back to Northern Syrian territory via the border crossing Akçakale in Urfa province.

Thousands of Islamists and their relatives from Jarablus reached the Turkish occupation zone in northern Syria via the same route yesterday. The long-term demographic change from Rojava, away from a multi-ethnic and multi-religious region, to a Sunni-Muslim dominated region under the control of NATO partner Turkey and its allied Islamists from the so-called SNA, an alliance of jihadist and right-wing extremist groups, some of which, like the Al-Qaida offshoot Ahrar al-Sham, are also internationally recognised as terrorist organisations, is in fact endorsed by Europe. The EU has the means to stop Erdoğan’s war in Syria. Yet it is allowing itself to be blackmailed with the refugee deal.
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Apr 29, 2020 4:22 am

Dozens killed in truck bomb
attack at Syria market


Aftermath of reported truck bomb attack in Afrin, north-western Syria, on 28 April 2020. White Helmets first responders denounced the "horrific massacre" of civilians

At least 40 people have been killed in a bomb attack in the north-western Syrian city of Afrin, Turkey says.

The governor of the neighbouring Turkish border province of Hatay said a fuel tanker rigged with a hand grenade exploded at a crowded market place.

He and Turkey's defence ministry blamed a Kurdish militia group, the YPG, which they see as linked to Kurdish militant groups inside Turkey.

Afrin is controlled by Turkish forces and allied Syrian opposition factions.

In 2018, they launched a joint operation to drive the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia out of the city and its surrounding region.

The Turkish government accuses the YPG of being an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and EU.

The YPG, which the US relied on to defeat the jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, says they are separate entities.

The fuel tanker exploded at an open air market in the central Souk Ali area of Afrin on Monday afternoon, close to the local government's offices, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.

The market is usually full of shoppers in the hours before Muslims break their daily fasts for the holy month of Ramadan.

Images from the scene showed thick black smoke rising above a residential area, and cars and food stalls on fire.

The Turkish defence ministry said all of those killed in the attack were civilians and that they included 11 children. Forty-seven other civilians were wounded, it added.

"The enemy of humanity PKK/YPG has once again targeted innocent civilians in Afrin," the ministry tweeted, without providing any evidence.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 40 civilians were killed along with six Syrian opposition fighters allied to Turkey.

The Syria Civil Defence, whose rescue workers are commonly known as the White Helmets, denounced the "horrific massacre" of civilians. It put the death toll at 42.

It said the attack was "just one more nail in the coffin of the Syrian people" and called for "international intervention to save lives and protect innocents".

There was no immediate comment from the YPG.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-52454134

The enemy of humanity is TURKEY with it's strong connection to ISIS

Turkey has no right to be in Western Kurdistan
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Re: Destruction of Western Kurdistan by absolutely EVERYONE

PostAuthor: Anthea » Fri May 01, 2020 11:25 pm

Elderly Afrin Kurd
expelled from his home


Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have turfed an elderly Kurdish man out of his Afrin home and forced him to hand over his property to a Syrian family displaced by regime forces, a local rights group has claimed

Hanan Ali Battal, a Kurdish resident of Chakali Wasani, was forced to leave his home on April 12 by a Turkish-backed militia group and relocated to his son’s house in Afrin city, the Afrin-based Human Rights Organization said in a report on Wednesday.

“Armed groups affiliated with the faction of Sultan Suleiman Shah al-Amshahat in the village of Chakali Wasani on 12/04/2020 expelled the elderly Hanan Ali Battal from his house,” the report states.

“Battal was forcibly relocated to Afrin city where his son Mahmoud is residing in order to seize his house and rent it to a settlement family and collect the rent for them [the militia],” it added.

The monitor also reported on Thursday that a 23-year-old Kurdish resident named Battal Mustafa Hassan from the Shih area of Afrin was executed earlier this month by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), accused of working with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) – the political wing of the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

“Almost seven months ago… Battal Mustafa Hassan, from the town of Shih, was detained on charges of communicating and reporting news of Turkey to the PYD organization,” the report states.

Turkish authorities allegedly detained Hassan in the southern Turkish province of Hatai and handed him over to HTS via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.

Hassan and his family had been displaced six years ago to Turkey’s Hatai province, where they owned a supermarket.

“About a month ago they [HTS] asked for a ransom of $10,000 to be provided during a very short period of time. However, due to their [the family] inability to secure the amount, they [HTS] executed him by shooting him almost ten days ago,” the report added.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi has called for an international investigation into the alleged crimes perpetrated by Turkish-backed forces in Afrin since Ankara invaded two years ago.

“The Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, called on Thursday for an international investigation regarding what he described as crimes committed in Afrin since the Turkish army and its factions took over two years ago,” North Press Agency (NPA), a local news outlet with close ties to the SDF, reported on Thursday.

Abdi also claimed the devastating truck-bombing in Afrin city centre on Tuesday, which left 40 people dead and 47 wounded, was the result of Turkey’s occupation and the behavior of its Syrian proxies.

Thousands of indigenous Kurds were forced to flee Afrin when Turkish forces and their Syrian militia proxies launched Operation Olive Branch on January 20, 2018.

By the time Ankara had seized control of Afrin city from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) on March 24, tens of thousands of Kurds had fled, many of them to Kurdish-controlled areas in northeast Syria.

Families displaced by regime offensives to the south were resettled in their place.

Afrin is now home to 298,700 Kurds and 458,000 people displaced from elsewhere in Syria, while Afrin city is home to 53,300 Kurds and 110,000 people displaced from elsewhere in Syria, according to Afrin-based organizations.

According to UN estimates, upwards of 150,000 Kurds have been displaced from Afrin, most of them to Shahba camp in Tel Rifaat, north of Aleppo.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch with the stated aim of pushing the YPG back from its southern border.

Ankara believes the YPG is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group which has fought a decades-long war with the Turkish state for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds.

The YPG, which makes up the backbone of the US-backed SDF, denies any organic ties with the PKK.

Monitors regularly accuse Turkey’s Syrian militia proxies of committing abuses against Afrin civilians, especially Kurds – both during and after the offensive.

Photographs quickly emerged in March 2018 of militiamen looting Kurdish homes and businesses and pulling down a statue of Kawa the Blacksmith – a core figure in Kurdish national culture.

Observers accused the militias of ethnic cleansing after homes were commandeered by fighters, residents intimidated or kidnapped for ransom, and displaced families blocked from returning.

Turkey and its Syrian proxies launched another offensive against Kurdish forces in October 2019, this time in the northeast, after US troops withdrew from the Syria-Turkey border region.

UN observers accused these Turkish proxies of potential war crimes and allowing an Islamic State (ISIS) revival in areas liberated by the Kurdish-led SDF.

The Russian-backed Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has demanded Turkey withdraw from Syrian territory and recently clashed with Turkish troops in the opposition holdout of Idlib.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... /300420201
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