ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday called on young Kurds in northeast Syria (Rojava) and Kurdish communities in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Europe to “unite” and “join the resistance” as Damascus-affiliated forces advance into the region despite a ceasefire.
“We call on all our youth, our young women and men of Rojava, North, South and East Kurdistan, as well as in Europe, to unite together and break the borders of the occupiers and join the resistance,” the SDF said in a statement.
The call comes amid ongoing clashes between the SDF and Damascus-affiliated factions in northern Syria, despite a ceasefire recently brokered on Sunday under US mediation.
“We declare that we will turn our cities from [al-Malikiya] Derik to Hasaka and Kobane into a graveyard for the new carriers of [the Islamic State] ISIS mentality,” the SDF said, implicitly referring to Damascus-affiliated factions leading the offensive in Rojava.
Earlier on Monday, the SDF accused Damascus-aligned armed groups of decapitating several of their fighters in northeast Syria, releasing a video of it described as a “heinous crime” that was committed and recorded in “the style of” ISIS.
The footage shows the captured fighters, at least four individuals, in military uniforms, while Arabic-speaking men refer to them as “Havalan [comrades in Kurdish]” and “the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK pigs.”
Damascus and its closest regional ally, Turkey, have long accused the SDF of links to the PKK, an allegation the Kurdish-led force has consistently denied.
“Some of these groups that are making [up] the Syrian government’s military, some of these groups are Jihadis, are extremists, are takfiri, and I do not know if Damascus can actually control them,” Myles Caggins, a retired US Army colonel and former spokesperson for the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, told Rudaw on Monday.
The term takfiri is commonly used to describe individuals or groups who declare other Muslims to be non-believers, often to justify violence.
Other videos circulating online also appear to show captured SDF members and civilians being insulted, beaten and killed by armed men. One video shows a man referring to two female fighters in Arabic as “the nicest gifts” to another militant, implying they could be used as sex slaves.
“We call on all our youth, our young women and men of Rojava, North, South and East Kurdistan, as well as in Europe, to unite together and break the borders of the occupiers and join the resistance,” the SDF said in a statement.
The call comes amid ongoing clashes between the SDF and Damascus-affiliated factions in northern Syria, despite a ceasefire recently brokered on Sunday under US mediation.
“We declare that we will turn our cities from [al-Malikiya] Derik to Hasaka and Kobane into a graveyard for the new carriers of [the Islamic State] ISIS mentality,” the SDF said, implicitly referring to Damascus-affiliated factions leading the offensive in Rojava.
Earlier on Monday, the SDF accused Damascus-aligned armed groups of decapitating several of their fighters in northeast Syria, releasing a video of it described as a “heinous crime” that was committed and recorded in “the style of” ISIS.
The footage shows the captured fighters, at least four individuals, in military uniforms, while Arabic-speaking men refer to them as “Havalan [comrades in Kurdish]” and “the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] PKK pigs.”
Damascus and its closest regional ally, Turkey, have long accused the SDF of links to the PKK, an allegation the Kurdish-led force has consistently denied.
“Some of these groups that are making [up] the Syrian government’s military, some of these groups are Jihadis, are extremists, are takfiri, and I do not know if Damascus can actually control them,” Myles Caggins, a retired US Army colonel and former spokesperson for the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, told Rudaw on Monday.
The term takfiri is commonly used to describe individuals or groups who declare other Muslims to be non-believers, often to justify violence.
Other videos circulating online also appear to show captured SDF members and civilians being insulted, beaten and killed by armed men. One video shows a man referring to two female fighters in Arabic as “the nicest gifts” to another militant, implying they could be used as sex slaves.
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