DUHOK, Kurdistan Region – History would perhaps be written differently if the Peshmerga had not arrived in Kobane when they did. The city in Syrian Kurdistan, which had heroically resisted the heavy guns of the Islamic State (ISIS) for weeks, was about to fall.
The commander of the 150 Peshmerga who first set foot in Kobane just as October turned to November, said his men fought alongside the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) to turn the tide of war, raising Kobane into a symbol of Kurdish resistance.
Major-General Abdulqahar Majeed, who commanded the Peshmerga support forces that went into Kobane, said the event was rare and historic: 150 Peshmerga troops traveled across Turkish territory to defend another Kurdish city, capturing the attention of the world media and focusing it on the heroic resistance for Kobane.
“In the heat of battle the Peshmerga and YPG fighters were singing and dancing,” Majeed told Rudaw, recalling moments and details never before told.
Majeed, who was with the batch of Peshmerga who were recently replaced by fresh troops, remembers his journey beginning with his arrival at Urfa airport in Turkey, which at the time was being criticized by the world for doing nothing as ISIS appeared on the verge of storming the city.
“After we landed at the airport we were taken to two closed warehouses in Pirsuz. They kept us there for more than 24 hours and gave us only one meal. They did not even allow the Peshmerga to use the toilets,” Majeed recalled.
He used the phone of a visiting MP from the Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HADEP) to call Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani and the Peshmerga minister.
“The president was actually very angry,” Majeed said. “He told me to wait for only one more hour, but even in less than that we were visited by the mayor of Urfa and the Turkish military commander of the region,” said Majeed.
Nine Peshmerga officers were finally accompanied to the Kobane border by three Turkish intelligence agents and the Turkish army commander.
“They took us to a certain location on the border and told us to enter Kobane from that point. We informed the YPG fighters that we would arrive to Kobane. The YPG fighters told us to hurry because Kobani was about to fall,” Majeed recounted to Rudaw.
They crossed at the Turkish border town of Mursitpinar.
“We entered Kobane with the nine Peshmerga officers. A YPG fighter was waiting for us on the other side. The road to Kobane was 300 meters long. The YPG fighter told us to lower our heads and cross that road hastily to avoid the ISIL snipers,” said Majeed.
He said that, when they entered, 80 percent of Kobani was under the control of ISIS.
“We examined the area and found a position for our forces. However, we decided not to bring the Peshmerga forces into Kobane from that point.”
Majeed talked about historic moments on the Turkish border: “When we went back to Urfa, the mayor of Urfa told me at 10 o’clock that night, that we had to enter Kobane early the next morning. I told him that it was impossible to send the Peshmerga forces with their heavy weapons through that road, but the mayor of Urfa was insisting. Then I told the mayor that I was the commander of those forces and I refuse to go. He became very angry and we stayed at that meeting until 2 am.”
Later, Majeed chose a place to cross.
“The border was all wired. I told the district director of Pirsuz and their commanders that we wanted to cross the border to Kobane at
that point.” He had to convince the Turkish, after they said it was impossible.
Then there was another hurdle: on the other side of the barbed wires they found a large trench.
“I told them that they had to fix that problem for us as well so that our military vehicles could pass. They were very upset with me at that point and told me ‘Mr. General, do you also need a paved road to Kobane?,’” Majeed laughed.
He said President Barzani was in constant telephone contact with the Peshmerga until they reached Kobane.
On October 31, when they crossed, ISIS launched an offensive at midnight that went on until 10 am the next morning.
“That day early in the morning the President Barzani called us and asked whether we were safe. He did not sleep because of the fighting in Kobane. The situation in Kobane was very precarious and the city could have completely fallen if we did not reach there on time. ISIS brought large forces as they were planning to demoralize the Peshmerga forces on the first day. Our response to ISIS was firm and we also delivered light weapons to the YPG fighters,” said Majeed.
He added that when the fighting became less intense, they met with the security, military, and political commanders of the YPG in one place and that they were very happy. They slaughtered 20 sheep to celebrate the arrival of the Peshmerga forces, their singing and music taking place with the backdrop of war and bomb explosions.
With the arrival of the Peshmerga, ISIS bombarded and attacked the city for 10 straight days.
“After the tide of the battle shifted, we moved from defensive to offensive fighting and were able to liberate four streets of Kobane in one day. When we reached there, a YPG commander requested a sniper and a night vision goggle. I conveyed his request to President Barzani. After a short period they received two machine guns, two snipers and one night vision goggle. I would never forget that moment, because they felt very happy and prayed a lot for us and thanked the president Barzani,” said Majeed.
Talking about the situation in Kobane, Majeed said that when they entered the city they spotted only two vehicles – a lifeless city. “But after we achieved victories and advances we were able to control 55 percent of the city and some families were able to return to their homes. There are currently 150 families in Kobane, but they are in a very bad situation and they have nothing to eat. They depend entirely on the food they find in the abandoned houses,” said Majeed.
The commander finished by recounting an incident that happened while they were fighting in Kobane: “A rocket fell into our base and burned it down completely, injuring 14 Peshmerga soldiers, two of them are still in the hospital. The rest have returned safely to their homes. When we looked at our destroyed base, everything was burned to the ground, except the place where we kept a Quran. We were amazed by this and recorded it on video. This really is a sign that God is helping us,” said Majeed.
