NEWS CENTER - Drawing attention to what happened before and after the Turkish airstrikes against Makhmur, Shengal, Dêrik and Shehba, journalist Seyit Evran told that Turkey carried out these attacks with the approval of USA and the collaboration of the KDP. 

 

Taking off from the 8th Main Jet Base Command in Diyarbakır on the evening of February 1, a large number of warplanes belonging to Turkish Armed Forces, bombed the Mahmur Refugee Camp which is under the protection of the United Nations (UN), Shengal and the villages of Dêrik and Shehba in Northern and Eastern Syria. The airstrikes on 21 points in Shengal lasted 4 and a half hours. During the bombardments that lasted for hours, 2 people in Makhmur, 3 people in Shengal and 4 people in Derik lost their lives, and many people were injured.

 

BEFORE THE ATTACK

 

Evaluating the the Turkish attack, journalist Seyit Evran drew attention to the events unfold before the attack. Recalling the ISIS attack on Sinaa Prison in Haseké, Evran interpreted the Turkish air strikes as a revenge for the defeat of ISIS. 

 

MULTIPLE TALKS WERE HELD BEFORE THE ATTACK

 

Reminding of the meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kazimi held with Turkish Ambassador Ali Rıza Güney on January 23, before the air strikes, Evran drew attention to the fact that Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın spoke to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the phone the night of the airstrikes. Underlining that it was significant that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a meeting with Federated Kurdistan Region President Nêçirvan Barzani one day after the attack, Evran said all these meetings creates a lot of questions.

 

THE DREAM OF 'OCCUPATION'

 

Reminding that Erdogan has constantly threatened to attack Northern and Eastern Syria throughout 2021, Evran said, “Erdogan conducted heavy diplomatic traffic to occupy Kobanê and the region. Despite all attempts and efforts, Erdogan was not allowed to open an invasion. However, the attack was approved in different ways. Erdogan, as a result of the talks, said that "our struggle will continue with different ways and methods". What Erdogan called different methods was to activate ISIS and other gang groups, as he did in the past. The first plan was ISIS. The second plan was killing people with drone attacks. The third, if he could, was to carry out secret attacks in some places. The attacks on Ain Isa and Til Temir were examples of these. The targeted places are populated with Arabs, Assyrians and Syriacs. Therefore, it turned out that the attacks were not only  targeting Kurds, but also other communities in the region.”

 

ISIS PLAN

 

Pointing out that the plan to use ISIS was put into effect in Northern and Eastern Syria, Evran said: “What happened in Hesekê was a serious attack and  a comprehensive plan. Turkey expected ISIS to succeed in Haseké. When ISIS failed to meet the expectation, Erdoğan himself stepped in. Attacks were carried out against Makhmur to Shengal, Derik and Kobanê. There was already simultaneous air mobility with drones on the Qamishlo line. Again, artillery shells were fired at some villages along the Eyn Îsa and Til Temir lines. In Shehba, attacks were carried out on Samuka and Helbir villages and Shehba Dam until 00.00 at night. All this was done simultaneously and in an organised manner. So to sum up, the following result is very clear; When ISIS failed in Hesekê, Turkey and its collaborators stepped in.”

 

HOLY PLACES WERE HIT

 

Evran said: "They chose the places they hit very meticulously. They hit holy places in Shengal. There were peacocks in an area they hit which are very sacred for Yazidi people. Civillian settlements were also hit. When ISIS failed, they turned to drone attacks and assasinations. That did not work as well. They are attacking to revenge the defeay of ISIS.

 

Drawing attention to the night of the attack, Evran said: "The attacks were carried out on the night of Viyan Soran's action to protest the absolute isolation on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. Therefore, they gave the message of how the February, when the conspiracy took place, would pass. It is seen that the attacks will increase in February when the conspiracy is being carried out and the attacks and isolation are getting worse."

 

REVENGE FOR THE DEFEAT OF ISIS

 

Reminding that the attacks on all of these cities are not independent from the ISIS attack on Haseké, Evran said: "When the plan in Haseké failed, Turkey started the airstrikes. This is something the international powers should see. This is a revenge for the defeat of ISIS. ISIS supposedly is a terrorist organisation according to all of the international powers. Erdoğan attacked because we defeated ISIS. All international powers, especially US has responsibility in these attacks. Because the airspace where the airstrikes were carried out is theirs. So these attacks were carried out with their approval and their silence confirms this."

 

THE ROLE OF THE KDP 

 

Referring to the telephone conversation between Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan before the attack, Evran noted that approval was obtained for the attack during this meeting. Evran said, “If the US did not approve of the attack, then it should come forward and make a statement condemning the attack. And making a statement is not enough. It should stop these attacks. Second of all, we know very well the position of the KDP. It has hostile policies both in Shengal and Rojava. It has already declared Makhmur an enemy with its sanctions on the camp. It was revealed that the KDP gave the coordinates of the places Turkey hit to the Turkish intelligence. It would be wise to have a look at how the K24, a news agency working as the spokesperson of the KDP, published the news about it. It said: "PKK points were hit in Makhmur, Shengal and Rojava". This means that the KDP is revealing what the Turkish intelligence isn't revealing. KDP is directly involved in these attacks and so are some forces from Iraq. However most of the peoples of Iraq are opposing these attacks and condemning them. There are a lot of oil wells in Dêrik. This is why KDP wants this place. It is clear that these attacks were carried out with the collaboration of Turkey and KDP and with the approval of the international powers. If it is not, they should come forward and condemn the attack."

 

'THE END OF ERDOĞAN'

 

Stating that th AKP government is collapsing in every way, Evran said: "He targeted Sezen Aksu and it backfired. He targeted Sedef Kabaş and got her arrested and tried to create discussions on her, but it didn't hold. He is collapsing both economically and politically. He is going down the drain. He is contradicting himself. He refutes his own words on a daily basis. He used 10-year-old kids to do politics. None of them works. His main aim is to destroy the Kurds and the Yazidis. Can he achieve that? I personally think that he can't. He'll put these people through a lot of pain and suffering but he can't destroy them. All of these attempts will get back to him as anger towards him. But the faith of the Kurdish people, their determination will prevail. Those who resist will win, Erdoğan will lose."

 

MA / Aziz Oruç