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The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have captured the villages of Iki Dam, Qudah Kuwi, Hajikanli, Hopkan, Darwish Ubasi, Diwan Al-Tahtaniyah and Mersava from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the Syrian area of Afrin.
The TAF’s general staff says that 1,715 ‘terrorists’ were ‘neutralized’ by Turkey-led forces in the period between January 20 and February 20 (i.e. since the start of Operation Olive Branch).
The Kurdish news agency ANHA says that 173 civilians were killed and 464 others were injured in the period between January 20 and February 17.
Meanwhile, pro-Kurdish sources blame “the Russians” for the YPG’s inability to finalize the widely-reported deal with the Syrian Army, which should allow Kurdish militias to save themselves from the TAF and the FSA in Afrin.
The pro-Kurdish sources blame “the Russians” for the YPG’s inability to finalize a deal with the Syrian Army. Idiots. They should be blaming the Americans.
No, they should be blaming themselves. Afrin is simply not in a long term defensible position. They knew that the Americans would not come to their rescue there, they knew that they were utterly dependent on the support of the SAA and Russians there, they knew that Erdogan was going to come for them there. Instead they let themselves be used as useful idiots against the SAA and the Russians and they refused to acknowledge that they couldn’t hold Afrin by themselves in the long term, so they refused to accept the terms of Damascus. And now that they are facing the consequences of their own choices, and lack of choices they blame everybody but themselves.
You make your bed and lie in it. Also, the longer they wait in order to come to terms with their inevitable surrender to Damascus, the worse off they will be.
You’re right.
Long term Afrin should not be a regionally defensible position.
In fact, in a normal stabilized situation no region should have to have a defensible position as countries should have to be able to cooperate, work to gether. Only around Turkey and soem other muslim states sadly one seems to need to have defensible positions.
When you’re trying to carve out your own separate quasi state entity then you better well select something that is defensible. A region that is separated from the main body and which can only be reached by consent of the very authority you’re trying to separate form is by definition indefensible. There are only few options. – Find a way to make it defensible by making sure its self reliant in maintaining its own forces. Hard to do even under the best of circumstances – Draw attention away from it by drawing attention of hostiles to the main body. Impossible right now because of US involvement. – Use force to create a land corridor to said region so it can reinforced. Impossible because of Russian involvement. – Declare said region neutral and hope for the best. Not bloody likely. – Surrender said region. The most bitter of options, but unless option 1 could be made to work it really was the only option.
And of course, in a normal stabilized situation there would never have been a Kurdish Afrin canton, Rojava or the SDF, it would all have been the Syrian state. The only reason the Kurds have their quasi state is because there is no normal stabilized situation.
only after massacering a million of it’s own people and having 3 millions refugees run away to Turkey.
Terrorist Turkey the worlds going down hill.one up for terrorists Ha!
Newroz in Kurdish literature Newroz has been mentioned in works of many Kurdish poets and writers as well as musicians.[33] One of the earliest records of Newroz in Kurdish literature is from Melayê Cizîrî (1570–1640):[34]
Without the light and the fire of Love, Without the Designer and the power of Creator, We are not able to reach Union. (Light is for us and dark is the night) This fire massing and washing the Heart, My heart claim after it. And here come Newroz and the New Year, When a such light is rising. The famous Kurdish writer and poet Piramerd (1867–1950) writes in his 1948 poem “Newroz”:[35]
The New Year’s day is today. Newroz is back. An ancient Kurdish festival, with joy and verdure. For many years, the flower of our hopes was downtrodden The poppy of spring was the blood of the youth It was that red colour on the high horizon of Kurd Which was carrying the happy tidings of dawn to remote and near nations It was Newroz which imbued the hearts with such a fire That made the youth receive death with devoted love Hooray! The sun is shining from the high mountains of homeland It is the blood of our martyrs which the horizon reflects It has never happened in the history of any nation To have the breasts of girls as shields against bullets Nay. It is not worth crying and mourning for the martyrs of homeland They die not. They live on in the heart of the nation.
turks and kurds are killing syrians.
a) The declarations of the kurds officials are opposites everywhere, in Afrin, Moscow, and even the field commanders say opposit things. This must be a political fight among the kurds. b) It’s crystal clear that the turks want the ypg kurds to disarm, and I think that the stalinists in the ypg are the problem against that.
“Turks just want the YPG to disarm…” How incredibly naive!
the “just” is yours, not mine, so, please, when you make citations don’t put in another words one or more of your own, it’s not nice.
Correct. But those Stalinists are commanding the YPG unfortunately. They will never left their arms as they haven’t for 40 years, nor allow the others in YPG. The only thing these communists know is fighting in mountains, administration is not their business
Straight out of the horses mouth (US) through proxy, I’m shocked!