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Kurds Close to Declaring Autonomy from Syria.
by Mahmoud Abu Ghosh
Kurdish militants clashed on Tuesday with members of the Jabhat al-Nusra (Al Nusra Front) fighters in Syrian-ruled Kurdistan, killing at least four members of the al-Qaeda affiliate as local Kurds prepared to set the stage for an autonomous region.
Gunfire also spilled over the border into the nearby town of Ceylanpinar in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan, killing one and wounding two others.
The Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) issued a “victory message” late Tuesday, celebrating the liberation of Ras al-Ain from Syrian control and calling on Arabs in the city to cooperate with its group, according to Hawar News.
The YPG claimed to hold control over the entire city, as well as the headquarters of the various rebel groups. Ras al-Ain is located in the province of Hasakeh, roughly 100 kilometers from the unofficial Syrian Kurdish capital of Qamishli. The city is home to some 50,000 people, a mix of Kurds, Arabs, Christians and the Kurdish religious minority Yezidis.
Last January, a Turkish citizen was seriously wounded when a bullet was fired from Ras al-Ain into a village on the other side of the border between portions of Kurdistan controlled by Syria and Turkey. It was the third such incident in a week to occur in battles between primarily Muslim rebel forces and Kurdish fighters for control over the city, which have been going on since last year.
The Kurdish National Council, an umbrella group of Kurdish parties functioning under Syrian rule, in January condemned what it said was an ongoing assault “against unarmed civilians” by insurgents on Ras al-Ain. The Kurds called on the Free Syrian Army to “pressure these militants to stop this criminal war which is detrimental to the Syrian revolution.”
Kurdish militants are reportedly planning to form a transitional Kurdish administration in the areas they control as well. The YPG is allegedly uniting with Syria’s Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The groups have formed a plan to hold elections for a local Kurdish government within six months.
In an interview with al-Monitor, PYD spokesman Alan Semo defended the rights of his people to declare autonomy.
“If they are declaring Islamic emirates, why can the Kurds not form their own government? It would be moderate, democratic and non-fanatic, and benefit regional and international interests,” he said.
Tensions in nations occupying portions of historic Kurdistan – Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey – are high due to the conflict in Syria, as well as disputes over oil and gas resources (particularly in Kurdish Iraq) and the struggle for freedom of the Kurdish population under Turkish rule. While Kurds living under foreign rule dream of an independent state of Kurdistan, many fear their chances to achieve this dream are slim anytime in the near future. Kurds constitute the largest ethnic group in the Middle East without an independent homeland.
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