Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)

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The Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict, a major theater in the Syrian Civil War, started after fighting erupted between the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist rebel factions in the city of Ras al-Ayn. Kurdish forces launched a campaign in an attempt to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas in the governorate of al-Hasakah and some parts of ar-Raqqah and Aleppo governorates after al-Qaeda in Syria used those areas to attack the YPG. The Kurds' goal was also to strengthen the autonomy, clean Kurdish areas from Islamist rebels and freedom of the region of Rojava.[1]

Background

Since the end of the Battle of Ras al-Ayn, the city was divided between an Arab-controlled western part and a Kurdish-controlled eastern part.[2] On 16 July, members of the al-Nusra Front attacked a YPJ patrol. They detained the driver and two female fighters managed to escape. In response to this attack, the YPG brought reinforcements from al-Derbasiya while al-Nusra had sent 200 fighters reinforcements a few days before.[3]

The conflict

2013

On 28 January, Arab tribesmen attacked the homes of Christian Armenians and Assyrians in the village of ad-Dalawiyah (25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Qamishli) and attempted to steal their harvest. The Assyrian Democratic Organisation condemned the attacks, characterising them as "foreign deeds". Islamist rebels repeatedly called for Christians in the province to leave.[4]

Kurdish capture of Ras al-Ayn and fighting spreads

During the evening of the 16th, the Kana'is street (where the YPG was positioned) and the al-Mahatta neighborhood (where al-Nusra was positioned) witnessed clashes.[3] A few hours later, the YPG took control of the headquarters of Al-Nusra and released the fighter Al-Nusra had kidnapped.[5]

On 17 July, Kurdish fighters expelled the jihadists from the town of Ras al-Ayn after a night of fighting[6] and soon after took control of the border crossing with Turkey.[7] Islamist forces retreated from Ras al-Ayn to Tal Half, Asfar and Najar which were under rebel control.[8] 11 people were killed during the fighting, including nine jihadist and two Kurdish fighters.[9]

On 19 July, the YPG captured the village of Tal A'lo.[10] Fighting was still continuing in Karhouk and A'li Agha.[11] The next day, Kurdish fighters captured an al-Nusra checkpoint near the contested villages. By this point, 35 jihadist and 19 YPG fighters had been killed in the fighting.[12]

On 20 July, the YPG took control of a key dam previously held by the Islamists.[13]

August–September fighting and Kurdish advances

On 1 August, ISIS declared the start of the siege of Kobani, or Ayn al-Arab where the headquarters of the YPG is located. The area surrounding Kobani has since been blocked from all sides.[14]

By August 28, Islamists and Kurdish forces were battling for control of the town of Yarubiya on the Syrian-Iraqi border. Islamists had captured further territory from the Kurds in Aleppo and Raqqa provinces; while in Aleppo, Islamists were ethnically cleansing Kurds from towns in the countryside and massacring them; leading to a mass migration of civilians to the town of Afrin.[15]

On 17 September, in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, Fighting broke out between Kurdish fighters and Islamist fighters in A'louk village that lies east of Ras al-A'in while fighting still took place near the town of al-Ya'rubiya. On 18 September, YPG took control of A'louk after four days of fighting that killed 20 people in both camps.[16]

On 26 September, rebels from the Free Syrian Army joined members from ISIS in clashes with YPG forces around the town of Atma, on the Turkish border. FSA units were said to have brought heavy artillery to the battle to push back Kurdish snipers while Kurdish tanks were firing at Atma. Arab rebel artillery was launched at the town of Jindaris.[17]

On 29 September, multiple bombers attacked Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. 6 people were killed and more than 40 were injured. ISIS later claimed responsibility and stated the attacks were retaliation for Masoud Barzani's stated intention to intervene in Syria on the behalf of the Syrian Kurds.[18]

October Kurdish offensive

On 26 October the YPG took control of the Yarubiyah border crossing with Iraq[19] as well as the town itself.[20]

On 28 October, the ISIS front in oil-rich Çil Axa region completely collapsed and YPG captured villages of Girhok, Yusufiyê, Sefa, Cinêdiyê, Girê Fatê, Ebû Hecer and Mezraa Kelem while remnants of the ISIS forces fled to Tall Hamis and Tal Brak.[21]

November Kurdish offensive

On 2 November, Kurdish forces launched an offensive called the "Serekeniye Martyr's Offensive", with the aim to consolidate their control of Hasaka province by pushing jihadist forces out of the area surrounding Ras al-Ayn.[22]

On 6 November, in Hasakah province, the YPG took over two villages west of Tall Tamer, on the highway to Aleppo, after clashes with the ISIS, Jabhat Al-Nusra and rebel allied groups. The towns the YPG had taken over were Ghebesh and Tal Shemarin, which are inhabited by Assyrians.[23] By this point, YPG forces captured a total of 40 towns and villages in the offensive.[24]

On 13 November, following major gains by Kurdish fighters, the PYD announced plans to create an autonomous transitional government to run the Kurdish dominated north east of Syria. The plans were announced after a meeting in Qamishli that involved Christian and Arab groups. The plan called for the creation of a parliament of 82 members elected from three cantons across the region. Kurdish officials also stated that the region would continue to be managed autonomously regardless of events in the elsewhere in the war. Also in Al-Raqqah province, rebel fighters launched domestically manufactured rockets on the villages of Kandar and Abdi Kawi which are under the control of the YPG.[25]

On 28 November, in Al-Hasakah province, YPG fighters took hold of 3 villages (Rokoba, A'wja, and Tal Maghas) that lie on the Tal Tamer-Hasaka road after violent clashes with the ISIS, al-Nusra and several rebel battalions.[26]

December Kurdish offensive

During the night between 26 and 27 December, YPG launched an offensive on Jihadi areas between Hasakah and Qamishli during which they have taken Tell Brak District.[27]

On 1 January 2014, The YPG battled the Islamists in Tell Brak, but were not able to capture the town. The battle caused 39 fatalities from the People's Protection Units and 21 Islamists.[28]

2014

January–February Islamist offensive and Kurdish counter-offensive

On 24 January, Jihadist forces attacked the YPG-held town of Manajeer in Hasakah province. However, after four days of fighting, their attack was repelled. 23 Islamist and three Kurdish fighters were killed. During the fighting the YPG also captured at least one tank from the Jihadists.[29]

On 1 February, it was reported that the YPG launched an offensive against ISIS bases in Tell Abyad.[30]

On 3 February, the YPG claimed to have killed 8 ISIS fighters, including an ISIS commander, during clashes in Girê Spî.[31]

On 15 February, the YPG supported by the Shammar tribe launched an offensive against the ISIS in Til Hemis area. Two days later, the YPG claimed to have killed "many" ISIS fighters and captured 30 of them, in addition of capturing five military vehicles and a large amount of weaponry during this operation.[32]

On 23 February, a predawn raid by the YPG captured Tell Brak, which lies strategically between Hassaka and Qamishli.[28]

On 26 February, the YPG announced to have halted all its military operations in the Kurdish-controlled regions but warned its enemies that it would respond to every hostile action on Kurdish soil.[33] The next day, ISIS launched an attack on Til Merûf which was eventually repelled by the YPG. According to the YPG 16 ISIS fighters were killed in the clashes.[34]

March–April fighting at Tell Abyad and Kobanê

On 1 March, ISIS attacked villages around Tell Abyad but the attack was repelled and left one ISIS fighter killed according to the YPG.[35]

On 6 March, YPG claimed to have killed 16 ISIS fighters and destroyed a "military vehicle" in Tell Abyad.[36]

On 11 March, ISIS captured the town of Sîrîn[37] and attacked the Al-Hadaya hotel in the city of Qamishli with suicide bombs, killing nine Kurdish civilians.[38] SOHR also reported that the ISIS executed 25 Kurds (including 14 fighters) in the Al-Sheyokh area, near Jarabulus.[39]

On 13 March, ISIS, according to local sources, captured the Qereqozak Bridge and some strategic regions near to Suleiman Shah Shrine in Kobanê after clashes with Kurdish fighters.[40]

On 14 March, Kurdish sources claimed that YPG and allied forces have killed 35 ISIS fighters in clashes in the countryside of southern Kobanî County, which erupted after the ISIS launched an unsuccessful attack towards the Serriin silos.[41]

On 17 March, heavy clashes erupted between the YPG and ISIS near the Qereqozak Bridge in Kobanê. The YPG claimed to have killed 40 ISIS fighters.[42]

On 19 March, the YPG claimed to have captured Tell Henzir village.[43] The next day, the YPG also claimed to be in control of Tell Henzir, Tell Xezal Miço, Ferisa Şerabiyan, Ferisa Sofiyan, Ferisa Dişo, Tell Boğan and Tell Meha. It was also stated that 32 ISIS fighters were killed in the clashes.[44]

On 22 March, SOHR reported heavy clashes between ISIS and YPG around many villages in the western countryside of Tell Abyad, resulting in migration of mainly Kurdish civilians from the western countryside of Tell Abyad and surrounding to Turkey.[39]

On 1 April, ISIS laid a siege, from three flanks, on Kobanê and launched an artillery attack from Zor Mughar. The YPG ambushed ISIS forces at Kendal, east of Kobanê, killing 12 Azeri fighters and their Kurdish ISIS commander.[45] Fighting raged in Zor Mughar and Kharab Atto while YPG fighters cut off all the roads leading to Kobanê from the western side, starting from the villages of Ta'lk, Derbazin and al-Qanaya, to prevent potential attacks by ISIS fighters against the city.[46] Despite YPG control of hills around Sirrin, ISIS forces, backed up by tanks, captured two grain silos and seized the village of Tal al-Bawgha.[45]

The YPG, the Euphrates Islamic Liberation Front, Liwa Ahrar Souriya and the Liwa Thuwwar al-Raqqa have worked together against ISIS in Kobanê.[47] The YPG has cooperated with the Farouq Brigades and the Liwa Thuwwar al-Raqqa in Raqqa Governorate in operations fighting ISIS.[47]

May kidnappings

On 29 May, it was reported that ISIS killed dozens of civilians in raids on several villages in the Ras al-Ayn region of Al-Hasakah province, with the retrieval of at least 15 bodies, including 7 children.[48]

On 30 May, ISIS kidnapped 193 Kurdish civilians between the ages of 17 and 70 from the village of Qabasin in Aleppo. On the same day, ISIS seized up to 186 Kurdish students who had been traveling from the Kobani region to Aleppo to complete exams.[49] The teenagers were reportedly sent to religious schools in Minjeb where they were indoctrinated into the ideology of jihad and the Quran.[50]

July Kobanî offensive

On 4 July, ISIS, using weapons captured from its attack on Iraq, seized the villages of Zor Maghar, Al-Zyara, and Bayadiyah, near the city of Kobanî, after three days of fighting with YPG forces.[51]

On 9 July, ISIS advanced towards Kobanî from the east, forcing YPG to withdraw from the villages of Abdi, Kwi, Kendal, Kri and Sor.[52] The clashes led to the deaths of 18 Kurdish fighters on Wednesday alone.[53]

On 14 July, the PYD issued a regional call to arms for all Kurds to assist in defending Kobanî. Kurdish militants from the PKK were traveling from Turkey to reinforce YPG defensive positions. By this time, at least 10 villages had fallen to the Islamic State's offensive, and ISIS was reportedly lobbing mortars at Kobanî. At least two PKK fighters were killed while defending the canton.[54]

By the end of July, according to the PYD, the ISIS offensive against Kobanî had been repelled, with 685 ISIS fighters being killed.[55]

September Kobanî offensive

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Main article: Siege of Kobanî
Frontline situation near Kobanî from March–September 2014
Kurdish demonstration against ISIS in Vienna, Austria, 10 October 2014

On 17 September, following the capture of a strategic bridge over the Euphrates,[56] ISIS launched a large offensive using tanks, rockets and artillery in the direction of Kobanî, and within 24 hours captured 21 Kurdish villages. The advance left Kobanî encircled by ISIS forces.[57]

On 19 September, ISIS captured 39 more villages,[58] bringing their forces within 20 kilometers of Kobanî.[59] 45,000 refugees crossed into Turkey, fearing an ISIS takeover of the region,[60] while a number of refugees was stopped at the border and ordered to return to Kobanî by Turkish authorities.[61]

By 21 September, ISIS captured 64 villages[62] as their forces came within 10 kilometers of the city, and continued to advance[63] with fighting concentrated on the southern and eastern suburbs of Kobanê, 13 kilometers from the town.[64]

On 28 September, after violent clashes with the Kurdish forces of the People's Protection Units (YPG) the ISIL militants captured the villages Kenana, Qadaa, and Hamadaneh in the Tel Kocher (Yarubiyah) countryside.[65]

Merger with Iraqi campaign

Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, with the aid of troops from the Syria-based Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), took control of the Rabia border crossing between the two countries,[66] marking the first major battle to straddle both. On 31 October, Iraq based Peshmerga troops crossed into Syria via Turkey to aid in the defense of the border city of Kobane.[67]

2015

January-July

Rojava territory controlled by the YPG in June 2015

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See also: Al-Hasakah offensive (February–March 2015) and Al-Hasakah offensive (May 2015)

The war dragged on, as both ISIS and the YPG gained and lost territory from each other, other rebel groups and loyalists. YPG successes alarmed the Turks, who threatened invasion.[68] In June, militants attacked Kobanî, killing over 200 people in gun battles.

Nusra-YPG Clashes

On 31 July 2015, clashes erupted between YPG and al-Nusra forces in the south of the Efrin Canton, targeting the town of Cindires.[69]

On 26 September 2015, clashes erupted between YPG and al-Nusra forces in the YPG-held district of Sheikh Maqsood. The clashes resulted in YPG forces advancing and capturing Castello Road, a key rebel supply line in the rebel-held Eastern Areas of Aleppo city. Tensions continued after the YPG allegedly violated clauses of a truce agreed with rebels concerning Castello Road. On 1 October Nusra forces again attacked YPG positions in Sheikh Maqsood however this was repelled with the YPG remaining in control of the key rebel supply route.[70][71][72]

Clashes between YPG-Al Nusra were renewed in the vicinity of Sheikh Maqsood on 3 October with Al Nusra suffering 15 casualties.[73]

Map of the territory changes during the YPG-led Northern Syria offensive (2015)

Al-Hawl offensive

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Main article: 2015 Al-Hawl offensive

During November 2015, the YPG and its allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces captured the town of al-Hawl. along with more than 200 villages and towns from ISIL in the surrounding areas in Al-Hasakah Governorate near the border with Iraq in the month-long offensive.

Tishrin Dam offensive

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Main article: Tishrin Dam offensive

In the week-long offensive, the SDF captured Tishrin Dam and surrounding villages from ISIL.

2016

Northern Aleppo offensive

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Main article: Northern Aleppo offensive (2016)

During February 2016, Syrian government forces and allied militias, backed by Russian and Syrian airstrikes, launched an offensive to capture areas in Northern Aleppo. The YPG-led SDF followed their advances and captured the city of Tell Rifaat and the Menagh Military Airbase.

Al-Shaddadi offensive

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Main article: Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016)

On 16 February 2016, the SDF, supported by airstrikes from the US-led coalition, launched an offensive to capture the strategic city of al-Shaddadi from ISIL.

Turkish intervention (2015-present)

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See also: Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War § Plans to invade or interfere in Syria

During the summer of 2015, Turkey began bombing YPG and PKK positions in Syria and Iraq.[74]

On 13 February 2016, Turkey began shelling the Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria.[75]

See also

References

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  7. ↑ AFP, "Syrie: les Kurdes infligent une cuisante défaite aux jihadistes", L'Orient le Jour, 17 July 2013
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  46. ↑ Fresh surge of violence hit Kobane city, north Syria Archived September 24, 2014 at the Wayback Machine
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  75. ↑ Turkish PM confirms shelling of Kurdish forces in Syria
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