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Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurds in Sulaimaini protest against the Turkish offensive in northeast Syria, October 10, 2019. Photo: Shwan Mohammed / AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Nechirvan Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), issued a statement on Thursday urging the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the wider international community to pressure Turkey to halt its operation in Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday announced the start of his long-threatened military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria, nicknamed Operation Peace Spring.
At least eight people, including a family and two Syriac Christians, have been killed and 13 injured in Turkish airstrikes and shelling, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
There are fears the latest violence in Syria could force hundreds of thousands of refugees over the border into the KRI, which already hosts around 250,000 Syrian Kurds and more than a million Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDP).
The UNSC is holding a closed-door session at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday afternoon after a meeting was requested by the council’s five European members, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland.
Barzani called to UNSC members to step in to put an end to the Turkish offensive.
“We have been monitoring the situation closely since the beginning, and we observe the military operations in East of Euphrates in Syria with sadness and concern, especially that radical groups of the Syrian opposition are participating in it,” Barzani said in his statement.
“War opens the door for death and the displacement of civilians, the creation of instability in all of the region, and makes the danger and threat of the resurgence of terror more serious and bigger,” he said.
The Kurdistan Region and Iraq have given “many sacrifices to destroy terror and have seen the plight of war”, the KRI president said, warning the Turkish operation could lead to “unexpected and dangerous outcomes” for the Middle East and the world.
“That is why, in a bid to stop war and establish peace, we continue our efforts and we are ready for any assistance and inter-mediation,” Barzani added.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told a press conference in New York on Wednesday that the UN supports “peaceful dialogue and “condemns military incursion”.
Haq urged Turkey to abide by international humanitarian law.
In a statement on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on “all parties to exercise maximum restraint”.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure need to be protected at all times and that sustained, unimpeded and safe humanitarian access to civilians in need must be guaranteed in order to allow the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to continue to carry out their critical work in northern Syria,” Guterres added.
The UN is also concerned the Turkish offensive could lead to a repeat of the looting, violence, and ethnic cleansing waged against the Kurdish population of Afrin when Turkey and its Syrian Arab proxies launched Operation Olive Branch in January-March 2018.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is made up of Arab and Kurdish groups including the People’s Protection Units (YPG), led the ground war against the Islamic State group (ISIS) with US backing. The SDF seized the last ISIS holdout of Baghouz in March 2019. Since then, it has led the fight against the ISIS insurgency in Syria.
The SDF and military experts warn ISIS could make a comeback while the SDF is distracted fighting the Turkish offensive. Anti-ISIS operations have reportedly been suspended, reports suggest.
“War and clashes only exacerbate issues, dangers, and unrest in the region, and they destroy the achievements in the defeat of Daesh and are in the interest of no one,” Barzani said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
“That is why we call on the international community and the Security Council to find a just solution for the future of Syria in a manner that guarantees the rights of all components and to play its role for stopping war, return of stability, protecting peace, dialogue, and a political solution seriously and to prevent civilians from being displaced,” Barzani added.
Barzani reportedly called on Russia, the Syrian regime’s main foreign backer, to protect Syria’s Kurds from Turkish attack when Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Erbil on October 7.
Lavrov has said Russia is trying to kick-start talks between Damascus and the SDF to reach a settlement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday announced the start of his long-threatened military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeast Syria, nicknamed Operation Peace Spring.
At least eight people, including a family and two Syriac Christians, have been killed and 13 injured in Turkish airstrikes and shelling, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
There are fears the latest violence in Syria could force hundreds of thousands of refugees over the border into the KRI, which already hosts around 250,000 Syrian Kurds and more than a million Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDP).
The UNSC is holding a closed-door session at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday afternoon after a meeting was requested by the council’s five European members, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland.
Barzani called to UNSC members to step in to put an end to the Turkish offensive.
“We have been monitoring the situation closely since the beginning, and we observe the military operations in East of Euphrates in Syria with sadness and concern, especially that radical groups of the Syrian opposition are participating in it,” Barzani said in his statement.
“War opens the door for death and the displacement of civilians, the creation of instability in all of the region, and makes the danger and threat of the resurgence of terror more serious and bigger,” he said.
The Kurdistan Region and Iraq have given “many sacrifices to destroy terror and have seen the plight of war”, the KRI president said, warning the Turkish operation could lead to “unexpected and dangerous outcomes” for the Middle East and the world.
“That is why, in a bid to stop war and establish peace, we continue our efforts and we are ready for any assistance and inter-mediation,” Barzani added.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told a press conference in New York on Wednesday that the UN supports “peaceful dialogue and “condemns military incursion”.
Haq urged Turkey to abide by international humanitarian law.
In a statement on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on “all parties to exercise maximum restraint”.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure need to be protected at all times and that sustained, unimpeded and safe humanitarian access to civilians in need must be guaranteed in order to allow the United Nations and its humanitarian partners to continue to carry out their critical work in northern Syria,” Guterres added.
The UN is also concerned the Turkish offensive could lead to a repeat of the looting, violence, and ethnic cleansing waged against the Kurdish population of Afrin when Turkey and its Syrian Arab proxies launched Operation Olive Branch in January-March 2018.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is made up of Arab and Kurdish groups including the People’s Protection Units (YPG), led the ground war against the Islamic State group (ISIS) with US backing. The SDF seized the last ISIS holdout of Baghouz in March 2019. Since then, it has led the fight against the ISIS insurgency in Syria.
The SDF and military experts warn ISIS could make a comeback while the SDF is distracted fighting the Turkish offensive. Anti-ISIS operations have reportedly been suspended, reports suggest.
“War and clashes only exacerbate issues, dangers, and unrest in the region, and they destroy the achievements in the defeat of Daesh and are in the interest of no one,” Barzani said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
“That is why we call on the international community and the Security Council to find a just solution for the future of Syria in a manner that guarantees the rights of all components and to play its role for stopping war, return of stability, protecting peace, dialogue, and a political solution seriously and to prevent civilians from being displaced,” Barzani added.
Barzani reportedly called on Russia, the Syrian regime’s main foreign backer, to protect Syria’s Kurds from Turkish attack when Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Erbil on October 7.
Lavrov has said Russia is trying to kick-start talks between Damascus and the SDF to reach a settlement.
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