US WITHDRAWAL AND ROJAVA
NEWS
- Trump: US will protect Kurds, no timetable for Syria withdrawal
- Damascus claims YPG fighters withdrawing from Manbij
- France’s Emmanuel Macron tells Vladimir Putin that Kurds should be protected
- Turkish jets bomb more villages in South Kurdistan
- Committee to unite Kurdish political parties formed in Rojava
- France will always remain dependable ally to Kurdistan: Consul General in Erbil
- Dutch government party wants to send soldiers to Syria to stop Turkish invasion
- Syrian Kurds call on Damascus to protect Manbij from Turkish invasion
- Retired US intelligence officer: Trump decision to leave Syria ‘a mistake’
- Google erases Kurdistan from maps in compliance with Turkish gov.
- Muslim: We didn’t call them, we’re not sending them away
- US withdrawal from Syria leaves Kurds backed into a corner
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- The United States Can’t Rely on Turkey to Defeat ISIS
- Internationalist Elefterya Hambi in Deir ez-Zor
- Syria Daily: The Multi-Sided Scramble for Manbij
- The Threat to Rojava
- Syria war: Government forces ‘enter Manbij’ amid Turkey threats
- Turkey Is Lying About Fighting ISIS
- Critics of Syria Withdrawal Fueled Rise of ISIS
- Media’s Russia Obsession Obscures How Trump’s Syria Withdrawal Benefits Turkey Most
- Hold Your Breath on US Troop Withdrawal from Syria
- Forty years since the Maras Massacre
- (VIDEO) Rojava in Syria: between compromise and utopia
- Making the YPJ invisible
STATEMENTS
- US President said withdrawal from Syria will take four months
- PYD’s Muslim evaluates 2018 for North and East Syria
- Assyrians and Syriacs: Turkish state can’t disrupt our unity
- Syriac Officials: Our people have alternatives
- KCK: US withdrawal from Syria will not weaken the struggle
- Internationalist Commune of Rojava calls for action
- YPJ International: Turkey and DAESH different faces of same enemy
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NEWS
- Trump: US will protect Kurds, no timetable for Syria withdrawal
2 January 2018|Kurdistan 24
At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday President Donald Trump made an important statement about the US posture in the Middle East: he will protect the Kurds in Syria, as he withdraws troops from that country. Trump also affirmed there was no timetable for the withdrawal from Syria, countering a New York Times report on Monday of a four-month period for the troop withdrawal.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/b4781bae-1dad-4631-b8c4-1759f568dc68
- Damascus claims YPG fighters withdrawing from Manbij
2 January 2018|Kurdistan 24
Syria’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday claimed 400 fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) pulled out of Manbij, the pro-Syrian government news agency SANA reported. However, a YPG source says there are no YPG fighters in Manbij. “There is no YPG in Manbij,” the source told Kurdistan 24 on the basis of anonymity. “Nobody can say YPG fighters are departing Manbij.”
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/9731b63f-bb18-466f-9d34-cbd5fa037479
- France’s Emmanuel Macron tells Vladimir Putin that Kurds should be protected
2 January 2018|Kurdistan 24
The fight against the Islamic State in Syria is not over, and the Kurds should be protected, French President Emmanuel Macron told Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Wednesday. Macron underlined “the need to recognize the rights of local populations and to ensure forces allied with the [US-led] coalition, notably the Kurds,” are protected given their ongoing efforts in the fight against IS. France earlier revealed its intention to remain in Syrian regions liberated from IS following Trump’s announcement that he would withdraw troops from the country.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/cb319375-7651-4906-9681-e096071c5afa
- Turkish jets bomb more villages in South Kurdistan
2 January 2018|ANF News
Turkish fighter jets carried out bombardments on several locations in the countryside of Duhok city in southern Kurdistan, northern Iraq, Wednesday evening. The attacks targeted the villages of Zap, Rekan, Guher and Kafya in Metina region of Duhok.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/turkish-jets-bomb-more-villages-in-south-kurdistan-31854
- Committee to unite Kurdish political parties formed in Rojava
2 January 2018| ANF News
KNK Rojava branch established a committee to unite all Kurdish political parties against the threats of occupation against North and East Syria. The meeting, which was attended by most members of the KNK branch in Rojava, addressed the threats faced by the Kurdish people, particularly the continuing Turkish threats against northern Syria. The meeting also stressed the need to ‘discard narrow partisan differences’ and focus on ‘forming a unified Kurdish strategy.’
- France will always remain dependable ally to Kurdistan: Consul General in Erbil
31 December 2018| Kurdistan 24
French Consul General in Erbil Dominique Mas’ comments came in a New Year’s message. Mas recalled his President Emmanuel Macron’s words last week when he expressed his deep regret with the US announcement of a troop withdrawal from Syria where they have been backing the Kurds in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), adding that “an ally should be dependable.”
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/93710376-cbb2-4099-b90e-7008a832dc89
- Dutch government party wants to send soldiers to Syria to stop Turkish invasion
29 December 2018| Kurdistan 24
The Dutch Christian Union Party, a member of the Dutch government coalition, proposed on Friday to send Dutch soldiers to Syria to join a “coalition of the willing” where they will help French and British troops in the war-embattled country. “According to [Trump, Turkey can take over the fight against IS. But this is wishful thinking since Turkey was the…base for IS,” he added.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/5e555860-218d-4f1b-8dee-854245859e1c
- Syrian Kurds call on Damascus to protect Manbij from Turkish invasion
28 December 2018| Kurdistan 24
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) called on the Syrian government on Friday to take control of the city of Manbij to protect the area against a threatened Turkish invasion. “Due to the invading Turkish state’s threats to invade northern Syria and displace its people similarly to al-Bab, Jarablus and Afrin, we as the People’s Protection Units, following the withdrawal of our forces from Manbij before, announce that our forces will be focusing on the fight against ISIS on all the fronts in the east of the Euphrates,” the YPG said.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/1b7c816d-564e-4ec2-905c-ca9c7a040b7a
- Retired US intelligence officer: Trump decision to leave Syria ‘a mistake’
28 December 2018| Kurdistan 24
“I think it is a mistake. The SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] just took the town of Hajin from ISIS after three months of heavy fighting and significant casualties,” he said to Kurdistan 24. “This was the last ISIS stronghold in Syria and paved the way for the SDF to completely control the middle Euphrates Valley. That has been the US goal – support the SDF with air, artillery, intelligence, special operations, logistics, etc. – until ISIS was removed from the country,” he added.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/0539f65d-e165-42a1-bded-934d68bb505a
- Google erases Kurdistan from maps in compliance with Turkish gov.
26 December 2018| Kurdistan 24
Google incorporation removed a map outlining the geographical extent of the Greater Kurdistan after the Turkish state asked it to do so, a simple inquiry on the Internet giant’s search engine from Wednesday on can show. “Unavailable. This map is no longer available due to a violation of our Terms of Service and/or policies,” a note on the page that the map was previously on read. Google did not provide further details on how the Kurdistan map violated its rules.
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/e6a0b65e-84fa-447b-9ed4-5df8390961d3
- Muslim: We didn’t call them, we’re not sending them away
21 December 2018| ANF English
Salih Muslim stated that the US decision to withdraw from Syria is sudden in regards to the conditions they announced earlier and added: “We didn’t call them, and we’re not sending them away. They weren’t here to protect us in any case.” PYD (Democratic Union Party) Diplomatic Relations Co-chair Salih Muslim said the US deciding to withdraw troops from Syria before the previously stated conditions for withdrawal are met is connected to the Turkish state threats and preparations to invade Northern Syria in terms of timing.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/muslim-we-didn-t-call-them-we-re-not-sending-them-away-31568
- US withdrawal from Syria leaves Kurds backed into a corner
20 December 2018 BBC News
Donald Trump’s decision to put an end to the US military operation against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria has left many observers wondering what might happen to Washington’s main partners on the ground, the Kurds, and whether their enemy Turkey offered the president anything in return.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-46639073
OPINION, COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS
- The United States Can’t Rely on Turkey to Defeat ISIS
31 December 2018| Foreign Policy
Erdogan wants to confront the Kurds, not the Islamic State. Outsourcing the battle to Ankara will endanger America.
- Internationalist Elefterya Hambi in Deir ez-Zor
29 December 2018|ANF English
German internationalist Elefterya Hambi, as part of a YPJ-International unit, is participating in the battle to crush territorial domination of ISIS in the province of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria.
In a video footage published by YPG Press Office, the German activist from the resistance of ‘Hambacher Forst’ reports from the battlefront.
- Syria Daily: The Multi-Sided Scramble for Manbij
29 December 2018| EA Worldview
Confusion surrounds the status of Manbij in Syria’s Aleppo Province, amid both an anticipated Turkish-rebel offensive and a Kurdish militia’s offer to hand over the town to the Assad regime’s military. With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatening an attack on areas held by the Kurdish militia YPG, Ankara’s troops and Syrian rebels have been moved to a frontline near Manbij, at the western edge of territory held by the US-supported, YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
https://eaworldview.com/2018/12/syria-daily-multisided-scramble-manbij/
- The Threat to Rojava
An Anarchist in Syria Speaks on the Real Meaning of Trump’s Withdrawal
28 December 2018| Crimethinc
Following Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that he is withdrawing US troops from Syria, we’ve received the following message from an anarchist in Rojava, spelling out what this means for the region and what the stakes are on a global scale.
- Syria war: Government forces ‘enter Manbij’ amid Turkey threats
28 December 2018| BBC
The Syrian army has entered the key northern city of Manbij for the first time in six years, an army spokesman has said. However the US-led coalition operating in the area said it had not seen military changes inside Manbij. A US official and a UK-based monitoring group said Syrian troops had deployed in the area around the city.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-46701095
- Turkey Is Lying About Fighting ISIS
28 December 2018| Foreign Policy
Erdogan promises to finish America’s fight against the Islamic State, but it’s the Kurds that he’s out to destroy.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/28/turkey-is-lying-about-fighting-isis/
- Critics of Syria Withdrawal Fueled Rise of ISIS
27 December 2018|Consortium News
Too many of those protesting the removal of U.S. forces are authors of the catastrophe that tore Syria to pieces, reports Max Blumenthal for Consortium News. President Donald Trump’s announcement of an imminent withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria summoned a predictable paroxysm of outrage from Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Former secretary of state and self-described “hair icon” Hillary Clinton perfectly distilled the bipartisan freakout into a single tweet, accusing Trump of “isolationism” and “playing into Russia and Iran’s hands.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2018/12/27/critics-of-syria-withdrawal-fueled-rise-of-isis/
- Media’s Russia Obsession Obscures How Trump’s Syria Withdrawal Benefits Turkey Most
20 December 2018| The Real News Network
While corporate media portrayed Trump’s withdrawal of US troops from Syria as a Christmas gift to Russia’s Putin, veteran Middle East reporter Patrick Cockburn says this is infantile and conspiratorial. NATO member Turkey stands to gain most, and could launch an attack on Kurdish forces in the northeast
- Hold Your Breath on US Troop Withdrawal from Syria
19 December 2018 | Consortium News
It would be nice to think the president has final say on foreign policy, given the U.S. Constitution. But the misleading troop withdrawal announcement, followed by Trump’s boastful tweet, suggests the exact opposite, says Patrick Lawrence.
https://consortiumnews.com/2018/12/19/dont-hold-your-breath-on-us-troop-withdrawal-from-syria/
- Forty years since the Maras Massacre
19 December 2018|The Morning Star
Steve Sweeney talks to Chair of the British Alevi Federation Israfil Erbil about a pogrom Turkey’s government would rather they forgot. Just one month separates the founding conferene of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in November 1978 and the events known as the Maras Massacre, when Islamic fundamentalists and Turkish fascists (Gray Wolves) started a week-long killing spree which left moer than 100 Alevis murdered and many more injured.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/forty-years-maras-massacre
- (VIDEO) Rojava in Syria: between compromise and utopia
18 December 2018| A film by Chris Den Hond and Mireille Court
The Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, also called Rojava, is passing through a dangerous period. Turkey attacked and occupies Afrin, one of the three Kurdish provinces. The Islamic State is still active. The authorities of the Democratic Federation had talks with the Damascus government on its de facto autonomy, without success, as for now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6wzYqar_f8&feature=youtu.be
- Making the YPJ invisible
15 December 2018| The Morning Star
Steve Sweeney reports on the case of Anselm Schindler, a German freelance journalist who is fighting against his conviction for a carrying the flag of the Kurdish YPJ. German courts have been accused of trying to criminalise the Kurdish freedome movement and opposition to the authoritarian regime of Turkish Presidenct Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The country is home to a sizeable Kurdish minority, many of who fled persecution from Turkey because of their beliefs.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/making-ypj-invisible
STATEMENTS
- US President said withdrawal from Syria will take four months
1 January 2018| ANF English
There are still important events to take place in the next few days: one is the trilateral meeting among Russia, Turkey and Iran which should happened before the bilateral meeting between Turkey and the United States.
- PYD’s Muslim evaluates 2018 for North and East Syria
31 December 2018| ANF English
Salih Muslim, Head of Foreign Relations for the PYD evaluated the diplomatic efforts of 2018 in North and East Syria and said, the New Year’s diplomacy will be conducted based on resolving Syrian crisis and the liberation of Afrin.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/news/pyd-s-muslim-evaluates-2018-for-north-and-east-syria-31795
- Assyrians and Syriacs: Turkish state can’t disrupt our unity
26 December 2018| ANF English
Assyrians and Syriacs stated that they will continue to stand united against Turkish state attacks and resist. The Assyrian and Syriac peoples condemned the attacks against Northern Syria and Rojava in their Christmas messages which follow.
- Syriac Officials: Our people have alternatives
25 December 2018| ANF News
Syriac officials in the Northern and Eastern Syrian administration and military forces spoke about Turkey’s threats and the US decision to withdraw from Syria, stating that peoples are not without alternatives and they have new projects in progress.
https://anfenglishmobile.com/features/syriac-officials-our-people-have-alternatives-31661
- KCK: US withdrawal from Syria will not weaken the struggle
24 December 2018| ANF News
Referring to the withdrawal decision of the US from Syria as a “rescue operation for the fascist AKP/MHP government” KCK said: “The new balance of power will lead the Turkish invasion to a defeat.”
- Internationalist Commune of Rojava calls for action
23 December 2018| ANF News
The Internationalist Commune of Rojava called for actions of civil disobedience to raise awareness for the situation in Rojava and send a clear sign of solidarity.
- YPJ International: Turkey and DAESH different faces of same enemy
22 December 2018| ANF News
“We defend Northern Syria and Rojava because we defend a world without fascism and patriarchy”. YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) International has released a statement on the Turkish state’s genocidal war and recently increased attacks against Kurds and Kurdistan. Full text of the statement by YPJ International reads as follows
Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question
Email: estella24@tiscali.co.uk
www.peaceinkurdistancampaign.com
Contacts Estella Schmid 020 7586 5892 & Melanie Gingell – Tel: 020 7272 7890
Fax: 020 7263 0596
Patrons: John Austin, Christine Blower, NUT International Secretary, Prof Bill Bowring, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Prof Mary Davis, Lord Dholakia, Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director, Jill Evans MEP, Lindsey German, Convenor STWC, Melanie Gingell, Rahila Gupta, Nick Hildyard, Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru, James Kelman, Bruce Kent, Jean Lambert MEP, Elfyn Llwyd, Aonghas MacNeacail, Scottish Gaelic poet, Mike Mansfield QC, Doug Nicholls, General Secretary, GFTU, Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey, International Coordinator, Green Party of England and Wales; Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy, Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, Kate Osamor MP, Margaret Owen OBE, Gareth Peirce, Maxine Peake, Lord Rea, Joe Ryan, Stephen Smellie, Steve Sweeney, Dr Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, Dr Tom Wakeford, Dr Derek Wall, Julie Ward MEP, Hywel Williams MP.