Kevin Howard (Courtesy photo/Facebook)
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have allegedly detained an international volunteer that has refused to fight “the Syrian regime” in Deir Ezzor province.
Kane Harlly, a former US marine, is now reportedly taken hostage in the SDF-held village of Tall Tamr west of the Hasakah provincial capital.
First reports appeared in social media on October 10 when Kane Harlly wrote in his Facebook account that he was detained by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units and the Syriac Military Council (MFS).
The YPG and its female version YPJ are a core of the SDF. At the same time, Kane Harlly reportedly was a fighter of the MFS, another group of the SDF.
Later the post was deleted. However, few users made its screenshots. One of them is here:
SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154972807278513&set=p.10154972807278513&type=3&theater
Later, a reddit user, @greensforest, released additional info about the incident. According to the report, Kane Harlly first volunteered with the YPG. When his unit was disbanded he joined MFS. In the both groups, he was fighting against ISIS. But when he decided to leave, MFS took away his passport and started holding him against his will.
@greensforest added a screenshot of Facebook conversation with Kane Harlly’s acc. According to the screenshot, the SDF was willing to deploy him to a frontline against the Syrian Army, but he refused.
Click to see the full-size image
The story raised concerns about how the SDF uses its international volunteers across Syria. Some pro-government sources suggested that the SDF has willed to deploy more international volunteers to the contact line with the Syrian Army in order to get a useful propaganda card in case of confrontation with the Syrian government in Deir Ezzor province. The current US administration could react fiercely if some US citizen volunteering in the SDF is killed in some firefight with the Syrian Army.
The Marine Corps Times reported in ts article that two Americans are detained by MFS: Kevin Howard and Taylor Hudson. The article says:
“A spokesman for the American-led mission in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Army Col. Ryan Dillon, told Military Times that a friend of the detained former U.S. Marine reached out to him seeking help for Howard.
Dillon told Military Times that he had little information about the alleged detentions, and that the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Citizens Services is currently responsible for and working on the situation.
An official at the U.S. State Department confirmed to Military Times that they were aware of reports of U.S. citizens being detained but would provide little details, citing privacy concerns.
“We are aware of reports of U.S. citizens volunteering to fight in the conflict in Syria being detained,” the official said. “We strongly warn against traveling to Syria to join in the conflict.”
“U.S. citizens who undertake such activity face extreme personal risks, including kidnapping, injury, or death. The U.S. government does not support this activity,” the official added.
Howard’s friend, Jeanette Carlisle, confirmed to Military Times that she had reached out to Dillon.
“He told me the military will not help them because they have a specific mission and it is not helping Americans,” she said.“
The Marine Corps Times also quoted some YPG volunteers saying that the American citizens were held in jail for killing civilians and selling weapons to ISIS:
“A western YPG volunteer who spoke to Military Times confirmed some elements of Carlisle’s account of the two Americans. However, the YPG volunteer claims the two Americans “were arrested by YPG on the order of the commander of the Academy for foreigners (Canşer)” when they attempted to originally join the MFS, the YPG volunteer said.
Military Times cannot confirm the allegations made by the YPG. Syria is a complex battlefield with a myriad of actors and varying interests. Carlisle called the allegations false.
“They were held in jail for three days without any charge, and when they were finally released, they were taken back to the Assyrians [MFS] in handcuffs,” the YPG volunteer added. The YPG claimed the two Americans had killed civilians and were selling weapons to ISIS.
The western YPG volunteer told Military Times that the two “spent a month of their friends’ salary getting to the [U.S. Special Forces base] SF base, where they were immediately driven off-base and told: “You know the way you got in? You f—ing get out that way too.”
A second YPG fighter who fought with Howard confirmed to Military Times that the two Americans were denied assistance by U.S. forces at a U.S. base in Syria.
According to the western YPG volunteer, Howard and Hudson’s biggest dilemma is not that they are being detained; it’s that they have no way of crossing the border because it requires assistance from YPG Academy for foreigners.”
However, it does not look that the audience believes in the anonymous YPG claims:
Click to see the full-size image
After the story became widely spread online, MFS released an official statement on the issue:
STATEMENT – Clarification regarding an issue with former fighters in the ranks of Syriac Military Council, MFS. pic.twitter.com/uIRBrb1iK3
— SyriacMilitaryMFS (@SyriacMFS) 12 October 2017
The MFS says that “two volunteer fighters, informed MFS General Command their will to stop fighting and leave for their respective homeland. MFS, with no hesitation accepted their will and we are working with them to assist them to leave Syria and later to join their country. They are free and treated with respect and dignity. We thanked the for their fighting in our ranks and join our force in these troubled times.”
So, according to MFS, Kane Harlly is alive and free and will allegedly be able to leave the SDF-controlled area.
However, no posts on the issue have appeared in Kane Harlly’s Facebook acc so far:
Click to see the full-size image
Mm true colors starting to show through for the Marxist SDF
“Marxist”? Guess we throwing random words now. Ok I’ll give it a try. Buddhist Al Qaeda, Sufi USA, Aborigine Russia, Communist USA, Atheist Iran, Socialist Columbia, Nazi Norway. Ok so I think now my pairing of names of things with illogical adjectives is on par with your same. :) I understand that YPG have a red 5-pointed star on their flag so that might cause some confusions but they are far away from socialist so they could have honestly used any other random symbol for their flag. But the symbol that would most fit YPG and SDF would be dollar signs ($$) crossed with 2 rifles maybe. If they were to remove the red star from their flag they would be doing real socialists a great favor as right now they insult the red star!
Actually it depends on how you look on the SDF. If American jewish backed, then yes. Marxist. https://theendofzion.com/2014/01/26/jewish-author-harry-waton-admitted-that-communism-is-jewish-hitler-was-right-and-the-jews-aim-to-conquer-the-world/
hahahaha. Inverting the truth – the basic zionist strategy. It is indeed you who is the zionist bot. It is the USSR (UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS) AND THE WARSAW PACT that supported Syria and the Palestinians (and Egypt during Nasser, until the guy who came after Nasser abandoned the previous policy and instead chose to make peace with Izrael and align Egypt with USA) against you zionists. Now you try to erase that part of history as a vengeance against communists for going against your plan of Greater Izrael (sponsored by anti-communist USA). Hitlers work of rooting out Jews from Europe worked hand in hand with zionists plan to mobilize them to conquer Palestine and further. How many of Jews murdered by Hitler’s minions were actual Rotchild’s men and zionists? – NONE! Zionism grew many times stronger after WW2.
You missed the point by a mile. I hate zionists and America’s support for them. America will always support Israel because they are corrupt. Maybe you can help me. I believe that the Bolsheviks were jews that murdered Russians. The Germans never wanted to fight Russians, they wanted to fight Bolsheviks. That is why I consider Israeli backed SDF Marxist. The link was a Rabbi claiming the jews created what is now communism. Which part do you not understand or do you simply not agree.
It doesnt matter a thing if You hate this and that. jews has nothing to do in a context about SDF & kurds before them has been and are today.
Very strange to jews into thise. Like putting chicken in Your coffee. Do You do that.
They are marxist. End of
Early on 30 years ago they were Marxist, but about 2000 APO read a book and they became Libertarian; so likely they were just nationalist all along with a veneer of ideology.
They’re not nationalists.
Of course they are. That is all they are, once you solve out extraneous factors. Most post world war 2 so called Marxist movements were merely nationalists with a thin marxist veneer readily discarded. Only a few years after Vietnam,Nike was opening factories in Vietnam.
They are terrorists.
Left libertarianism = marxist ideology too. Youre welcome
Some people are fixated upon failed antique 19th century economic systems like marxism, that never succeeded in practice despite numerous attempts over 90 years. Eventually, after a revolution, it devolves into a workable system — hopefully before millions starve. So, ideologies are really just transitory vehicles.
They’re not remotely Marxist. Your ignorance doesn’t change that.
Really…?
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/christian-foreign-fighters-deserting-kurdish-ypg-syria-because-theyre-damned-reds-1976493133
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/american-anarchists-ypg-kurdish-militia-syria-isis-islamic-state-w466069
OMG! If Rolling Stone (Ahhhh…Mr. Seth, Mr. Seth …) claims that they are Marxists, we have no other way but to review our positions! And ASAP! After all, RS is, admittedly, a publication specialized in the subject and with great knowledge of philosophy, politics, economics and similar topics, isn’t it? And, of course, if the statement is still supported by the MEE (are they still defending the Muslim Brotherhood or was it just a temporary hiccup?), things are even more credible! LOL!
Merely illustrating two sources from across wide spectrum of media – that are offering the same conclusions about SDF/YPG/PKK. If you can’t handle that reality, meh.
WOW! The same “wide spectrum of media” that says USA is a democracy? The same that says “Putin ate my homework”? LOL! It is even more funny than I thought…
That is exactly the point. Middle Eastern Eye and Rolling Stone are two wildly disparate media companies from different continents, yet whilst both broadly advocate pro US foreign policy goals, each posits that SDF/YPG/PPK , who are the absolute US pet proxies for the current US project and moment, are politically a complete mess of Marxist, Anarcho and vagary left positions. How do you fail to see the point here?
“Point”? What point? You first quote two sources of sh*t to justify that SDF / YPG / PPK are “Marxists”. Then you yourself admit that they are “a complete mess of Marxist, anarcho, and vagary leftist positions.” And I have to “see the point here”? No, they are not at all Marxists: they are just a mess. End of story.
I dont care if youre another socialist pig whos embarassed by them they have marxist roots and havent strayed far at all. Ofc it hurts for you to admit it but facts are facts and your ignorance doesn’t change that either
Sure! They are Marxists, and some people like you are illiterates idiots. End of [sic]
let me remind You Karl Marx was a philosofer.
Karl Marx was a journalist, and his two most significant works were; a two volume economic critique of capitalism, Das Kapital, and a radical political pamphlet, in the European tradition, The Communist Manifesto.
So what?
They are marxist commie terrorists, and idgaf if your braindead monkey ass thinks otherwise
Wow! What a wise answer, Poor Thing! Did you get it alone or had your mama to help you? LOL! What poor illiterate idiot…
What does my mum have to do with it fucktard? Your mums a whore now we are even. Marxist because they are, and if u say nah theyre libertarian, well left libertarianism is marxist too. Soviet socialism is not the only marxist offshoot ideology. If they are slightly capitalist here and there or deal with the us it dont mean they dont have marxist roots or tendencies. Terrorists because they are foreign illegal invaders in land that isnt theirs or specifically, beyond borders assigned to them previously. You got schooled now fuck off scrub
Ouch! My beloved Little Donkey is upset! And he has reason to feel this way: he cannot differenciate a Marxist from a sardine if both are on their backs… Get a book, poor thing, and try to learn something. I doubt it will make any difference in your huge lack of knowledge, but you can try! But, well, just be aware that, despite you could fight ignorance, stupidity is atavistic. Recommendations to your very respectable mommy and your birth daddies, if you can remember any of them… LOL! What a poor thing!
You get a book and read. I dont need to. In fact you have nothing to say besides silly schoolyard insults and childish talk. Marxism is not just soviet socialism there are many other strains of marxism. Stop raging and smashing your fingers on the keyboard and do something productive with your life, basement dweller lol. Your mum and your sister are the same thats why you were born with brain damage
“You get a book and read. I dont need to.” Hmmmm…Actually you can’t, do you? Illiterates never know what to do with a book, huh? Well try to use it to fix a lame table, Little Donkey: this is the only thing you could do… “Strains of marxism”! LOL! Yes, we have a Grouxo Line, Zeppo alternative, Harpo dissidence and so on. What do you prefer, kid? Recommendations to your mommy, poor thing. BTW, do you still have the both part-time jobs at McDonalds and WallMart, loser?
Are you this obnoxious irl lol? Many strains of marxism, but only one strain of incredibly ignorant and thats you.
You did it again! What smart and wise answer, Little Donkey! I’m really impressed! Got some help this time? Maybe your mommy? Some of your fathers? Friend from McD? Walmart? :-)
Broken record, got nothin but tantrums worse than a child’s. From anyone’s point of view you lost the argument the moment it started.
Did you expect me to teach you Marxism 101, Little Donkey ?? !! Seriously, did you imagine that I was going to waste time with an illiterate and stupid kid? No, poor thing, I use idiots like you to amuse myself. Only. But, do you know that the more stupid the person, the less fun I have? So I have to say goodbye to my favorite little donkey. Désolée …
You’re mad asf tho lol
That must Yourlevel of level,which is. Marxist ar many kinds just as muslims having an Ayatollah or not.
Wtf did you just use google translate or somethin? Lmaooo
Com’n Ivan, weren’t almost half the heroes of the 1917 revolution Jewish? Even today Bibi & Putin remain on good terms. So slinging Zionist name calling is not really accurate.
LOL, commies thinking their entire movement hasn’t been les by Jews from the start os just comedy gold.
They are decentralised Marxists of the most reaslic kind and running the areas by them would be a very good improvement accordi to Assads and Uprisers.
funny how anticommunists think they aren’t among the zionists favorite pets.
Our relations to jews isnt like that. They are nothing specific here and part of us.
I don’t know on what behalf you talk but it must be a remote place, like in a place several light years from earth :D
No, Im a normal western. Jews are not that special at all exept the few ones with curley hair.
what’s special with curlies?
You are far out again. How much do You pay for writing here?
It is no use asking America for help. His only real chance is the Syria/Russian alliance. This article needs to go world wide.
Probable the Russians would treat him well and sent him home both to see who’s the better side and let the other volunteers know they’ve got someone who can help them if they decide to leave those scum and are scared to do so
I thought he is was one the 2 sended home after t´hat not nice.
sdf are worst than the defeated terrorists – they learn evil fast from their zio masters
Grow up.
Yes. Many around them fear SDF`s because before they could slash the little weak ignorant and talk bad and use them for any exuses they couldnt use against jews and USA.
And now those moron SDF`s shoot bakck. It terrible. Som Kurds there even want payback hard and have the tools for revenge.
Those think SDF/PYD/kurds would make coursystems as their owns. 1) You opend Your mouth. We dont like You. 2)We torture You for fun. 3)We kill You because You are low not defending Yourself
And are there now many of you now and then it 4) We airstrike, starve and gas You.
You are only alive because we couldnt solve our sountries all the time, if it didnt have You.
The screws are in.americans are only of value if they fight against assad.it does not matter that this brave man killed headchoppers for so long. He now goes against the zioumerrikans line so must become the rogue,like saddam and bin laden before him.they were friends of uncle sam once as well.
Of course he won’t get any help; the US has been actively attempting to destroy Syria both with direct attacks on the Syrian army and collaboration with Isis in Kurdish held territory. The US would undoubtedly help these 2 guys if they’ll just agree to play by the coalition rules and agree to sparing Isis and targeting the Syrian army. Don’t forget the 2 reasons the US is in Syria, 1) President Netanyahu commands Trump & company to do it and 2) If they’re successful, they get the oil of the Euphrates valley. Remember that Assad became a dictator when he refused to allow oil to transit through Syria in the hopes of replacing Russian oil in Europe.
I am trying hard to feel some compassion but it just doesn’t work.
if the SDF release them their is a change the will go public about what the motives are of the SDF, i fear we will read some day the have fallen in combat.
The military will not help them because they have a specific mission and it is not helping Americans’
And he had no shame in saying this explicitly? I mean we know this already but jesus….
Maybe that commander sees guys like Kane as traitors who joined with a foreign military? Many countries do not look kindly on their citizens enlisting abroad. It used to be in the Netherlands that if you did so you lost your nationality. Which was what happened to those volunteers who fought against Franco in the Spanish civil war. Unfortunately it has been revoked, so now former ISIS members can come home as they’re still Dutch citizens.
This article shows that the YPG is not what meets the eye. In the Western press that is. There was probably something romantic to them when they were still fighting for their lives against ISIS, but now that they sold their souls to Washington their true colors come shining through.
But even in the ‘romantic’ days of the battle of Kobani, there were reports of visiting journalists who noticed that not everybody in the socalled Rojava region was charmed by the YPG and its ideology, and that there were a lot of people in that region who were trying to leave. Which is why I think that the Arab populations that have recently fallen under SDF rule will not like their new masters very much. This is part of why I think the Russians are playing the long game with the SDF. They know that SDF is a giant on clay feet and that the more traditional Arab populations will probably not be that enamored with the radical YPG social ideology. After all, these people had little problems with living under ISIS rule, if it weren’t for its whaky headchopping craziness. Once the YPG starts pushing through its radical social agenda the Russians probably reckon that to the locals suddenly Assad starts looking a whole lot better.
afaik you lose your nationality if you enlist in another country armed service, with a rank, serial number and paycheck.
volunteering isn’t considered enlisting in another country’s army.
Isn’t enlisting into an army basically volunteering to join? Draftees get forced to join, enlisted do so of their own accord.
In any way, these people joined up with a foreign military, and in the case of the YPG not even some official military but a paramilitary organization, as the Kurds have no official state nor government. Legally the only thing that makes the YPG different from the YPG is that we have deemed ISIS a terrorist group and the YPG as heroic freedom fighters. Of course Ankara and a few others probably see that differently.
“Isn’t enlisting into an army basically volunteering to join? Draftees get forced to join, enlisted do so of their own accord”
It’s a different thing because it’s not a national army. You can’t normally “volunteer” for a regular foreign army as you don’t have that citizenship. The law you talk about is common in Europe and abroad, but it doesn’t apply for example to mercenaries as well.
If you are part of a mercenary unit, and another country hires your unit, you don’t lose your original citizenship, although in some situations you could end up incarcerated or under inquiry when you get home.
Traitors when he was with sdf no 1 us supported group tho??
Yes, does not make sense, unless he knows something he shouldn’t…or it is known that he disagreed with fighting Assad instead of ISIS. Something stinks.
Kevin/Kane had already told them he is tired and wanted to go home and he was there to fight ISIS only. The YPG told them he could leave if he fought the Russians ,SAA and allies on the front lines after giving him a broken sniper rifle.
He is learning the hard way about the DUPLICITY of the UNITED STATES Corporation and ALLof its WARS
Sorry but I have NO SYMPATHY for anyone, from a Western Country fighting in the Middle East. You will get what you deserve, if you do. It is their land so mind your own home business and you should or……….. should have, stay(ed) home.
If you wish to “DEFEND” America, as you are being DECEIVED to believe you are doing, DO IT from WITHIN America, not-with-standing your REAL ENEMY is in Washington and Tel Aviv
Read your Constitution and DOI
That is only COMMON SENSE.
If this yankee wants to really fight ISIS then he should join the SAA, not the U$-backed ‘moderate’ terrorists.
Exactly. He should have done that before he joint the ranks of kurds.
You cant always see that. I have made some bad mistakes myself. it wasnt in evil intensions, but I was wrong or didnt fit in.
You see the convertites comming to ISIS just want to live i a Khalifat for the “real muslims”. What happens: Those are used as selfdonators, becuse they have no usefull skills exept working hard 5 times a day with Islam.
Exactly. Poor guys.
He probably was mislead by the MSM propaganda portraying the YPG-SDF ( Syrian branch of terrorist organisation PKK) as the good guys. This story also corroborates that most SDF fighters are not Syrian. Most are Kurds though, but from abroad.
Most evil version.
You might remember they have several and 2 went wrong.
“The current US administration could react fiercely if some US citizen volunteering in the SDF is killed in some firefight with the Syrian Army”
If it reacts the same way it reacted when US volunteers were killed by ISIS then Syria has nothing to worry about.
USA is there in order to support israeli prostitutes. I have been f+king many israeli female soldier in Paris and London they come mostly from eastern-european countries like Solomon Krupacek and they like to be fukked in Ass
A little clickbait here. Yes, he is being detained against his will but he only says that he is ‘war weary’. He didn’t say anything about the SDF or YPG’s military activities of that they had ever targeted the Syrian army. Yeah, the title of the article did have a ‘?’ in it but that’s why I’m calling it clickbait :-)
I still love Southfront.
its easy for foreign volunteers to appear as isis fighters, especially when they are dead and cant tell a thing.SDF plays dirty, learned from its master
A dark thought.
in a very dark dark war dont you think?
Yes, You are. Free speech was delayed here because of someone like You should be allowed too.
didnt understand a thing you said…..please rephrase!
You are their master ???
master of puppets….yes
Why am I not surprised by any of this?
A complex battlefield like Syria is no an ideal place for foreign volunteers fighting on one side or another. Like the marine said “You know the way you got in? You f—ing get out that way too.”
You got a point there. Civil wars are complex wars with no clear cut good or bad guys. Unless you’re called Al Qaida or ISIS. And even those guys are heroes in their own minds.
It’s probably not smart of this guy that he gave away his passport. It’s literally his only ticket out and without it you’re a stateless nobody.
So much for military comradeship. At least as far as these guys are concerned. Since he was fighting with the SDF, a US proxy, there has to be a reason for their refusal to help him. Gee, it wouldn’t be something he might take home and tell people would it? One way or another he has to know what the SDF has been doing and at whose behest…maybe this is what gave him pause and caused him to want to leave? If he has any thoughts of telling what he knows, he damn well better keep it to himself, until he gets out…There is no other reason the US would not want him to come home, as they are paying many to fight in Syria, but against Assad, not necessarily against ISIS.
Most interesting is the “kalashnikov incident” he made in one of his posts. Plenty of YPG/SDF western volunteers have returned to EU & US & Oz; so more facts are needed to figure out what is really happening.
Isnt it FUNNY when the fucking SDF shit hits the Fan Dutchnation(Käsfresser) never responds to BAD publicity for his so called Freedom-Fighter, isnt it clear for him that sdf is a long time Proxy army for the U Ass of A?!
Indeed, because all these trolls come here to support these terrorist organizations like ISIS , SDF, Al Qaeda and are infuriated each time Syrians liberate a part of Syria.
Someone learned the hard way that there is a difference between main stream media narrative and reality.
But if we go on, we all will learn this message the hard way.
You article should have elaborated more on MGS the forgotten brave Christian Syriac militia who defended Syrian Christians…ThNks to the Kurds who armed the…God bless YOU and MGS
Complete nonsense. The guy’s a war tourist and not straight in the head. He doesn’t even speak the language. He left YPG and tried to jump the border into Iraq, not possible at the moment. So he joined SMC and then decided to leave. It’s not that simple since the border is currently closed, so they tried to arrange it. Then he ran off to a USSF base, they told him to get lost. So then he started badmouthing everyone, now nobody can be bothered with him. He’s not a “hostage”, he’s got his fucking phone and he’s all over Facebook like a drama queen.
MSF AND YPG ARE ALL FORIGNERS KURDS . SAME LIKE ISRAEL DID IN 1948 MOST OF THE ISRAELI ARE FROM OTHER COUNTRY AND STOLE THE PALESTINE LAND . NOW SYRIAN KURDS WITH THE HELP OF ZIONIST ARE DOING SAMETHING . YPG/PYD/SDF ARE ALL FORIGN THUGS WANT TO CUT SYRIA AND IRAQ SO THEY CAN CREATE ANOTHER ZONIST STATE WITH THE HELP OF US. ALL THE FORIEGN VOLUNTERS SHOULD LEAVE SDF/YPG AND JOING SAA TO FIGHT THIS DAES AND SDF WHO IS ZIONIST SLAVE.
Hs
Reminds me of ISIS Sally, both brainwashed, both realised on the ground it’s a completely different story than of their initial goals. Military industrial complex/deep state is killing US citizens at home to advance their agenda, I wouldn’t be surprised a bit if they spin this situation as they please, it’s almost 100% sure these Americans will not come home and talk in person what they posted (now deleted) on social media. If it doesn’t fit with US deep state narrative abt Syria, they are good as dead. Well, it’s only a matter of time when Americans will feel true and hard consequences following decades of “Israel First” policies by US establishment aka status quo. They lived long enough on cheap oil/low prices “Aircraft Carrier Striking Group” economy. Those prices are paid by millions of dead ppl and in fact every country in the world using Petrodollar financed American lifestyle for almost 50 yrs. Enough. And for those who say-“it was not us, it’s the government”-FUCK YOU! You didn’t mind a bit while it didn’t hurt your pockets, while the rest of the world paid your 12 credit cards debts. FUCK YOU!
Quite right, both SDF and ISIS are indeed terrorist organizations.