Syrian Kurdistan. Conflict in Syrian Kurdistan

Syrian Kurdistan is located in the north-west of Shammy (locally called Syria) and occupies vast territories. Over the past few years, the region has often been the focus of world news because of fighting in the Syrian Civil War. To date, Kurdistan is one of the hottest points on the planet. However, this is a very interesting place from a tourist point of view. There are many monuments of antiquity and centuries-old culture of the Kurdish people.

Description of the region

Syrian Kurdistan is more the self-designation of the northern regions of Syria. Under the constitution, the region is part of the Syrian Arab Republic. But for almost 4 years the territory has been de facto managed by local organizations. The Syrian enclave of Kurds is just part of the so-called Greater Kurdistan. That is, the territory where the Kurds live. The territory of Kurdistan is included in 3 states: Syria, Turkey, Iraq. And not in one of them has no independence. At the same time, the Kurds are engaged in a rather long struggle for the creation of a national state. In Syrian Kurdistan, almost 5 million people live, the vast majority of whom are Kurds. As a self-name for the region use Rozhava or West Kurdistan (as it is in the west relative to other territories with Kurdish population).

Political structure

The main languages are Kurmanji and Arabic. Developed agriculture, which brings the main profit. In some areas, oil is produced. After the outbreak of war, most of the finances go to defense and armament. Therefore, the authorities decided to exempt all private and legal entities from taxes. This stimulated the development of small businesses and the creation of many small cooperatives. At the same time, the state assumed the responsibility of regulating prices and fighting the emergence of possible monopolies.

Religion in Kurdistan plays a less significant role than in neighboring Arab states. In fact, the power in Rozh is absolutely secular. As far back as the 20th century, Kurds began to share various leftist ideas, including communism and Marxism-Leninism. Before the war began, there were already militant groups of radicals. The recent conflict also sharply raised the wave of civic nationalism and the desire to unite all Kurdish territories into a single national state. Kurds are the second in the world people who do not have such.

The beginning of the civil war in Syria

The conflict in Syrian Kurdistan began simultaneously with unrest across the country. In mid-2011 anti-government protests raged across Syria. Kurds also supported them. However, the requirements were different. First of all, there were calls for autonomy or even independence of the region. There was cooperation with the Syrian opposition. However, by 2012 the situation sharply worsened. After clashes with the police, opponents of the authorities staged a series of terrorist attacks. Warehouses were ransacked with weapons. Approximately at this time, radical Islamic fundamentalists joined the political events in the country. Combat operations began between the Syrian Free Army and government forces, with the support of pro-Asad paramilitary formations.

War in Syrian Kurdistan with Islamism

Since radical Islamism was never popular among Kurds, the Syrian Kurdistan remained neutral for a long time. At the same time, local groups seized power and established the Supreme Council, which is the power in the region. At the same time, the Kurds do not deny that they are part of Syria and cooperate with Bashar Assad in many matters. Some areas of Kurdistan continue to remain under the control of the Syrian government. The Syrian National Council does not recognize the independence of Rozhava, but does not call for active action. The government has repeatedly stated that it is ready to compromise and grant the Kurds wide autonomy within the framework of the Syrian constitution.

Active Hostilities

In 2013, the group "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" became more active in Syria. All the world's media reported on IGIL after the successful attack of militants on Mosul. In record time and with a small amount of weapons and personnel, the militants were able to capture and retain one of the country's largest cities. From this time, active expansion of IGIL began. The vast territories of Iraq and Syria fell under the control of the Islamists. After a while they approached the northern regions of the country.

To protect against Islamists, the local population began to actively join the militia. The conflict in Syrian Kurdistan has fully flared up at the end of 2013. By this time IGIL completely cut off the northern regions from the rest of Syria. The western part of Kurdistan was cut off from the rest of the territory not only by terrorists, but also by the Syrian Free Army (SSA). The militants of IGIL began an active offensive on the Kurdish territories near the city of Kobani. For a short time they managed to press the front line for many kilometers in other places.

Peshmerga

The main military force of Kurdistan is Peshmerga detachments. They were created more than 100 years ago and mean a tribal militia. To date, according to various sources, the number of these detachments is estimated at 150-200 thousand people. They are fighting the militants of the "Islamic state" in Syria and Iraq. Rozhava receives serious material and technical assistance from Iraq.

On the territory of Syrian Kurdistan there are detachments of the national national militia, which in fact are the military wing of the democratic party of Syria. In the majority of fighters of these units adhere to the left ideology. A large flow of volunteers comes from the territory of Turkey, which is inhabited by Kurds. There the ferry is handled by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Also, the local population collects regular assistance to fighters and civilians affected by the fighting.

War with Islamism

The militants of Igil behave especially cruelly against the Kurds. Dozens of evidence of the genocide of the indigenous population leaked to the media. For this reason, and also thanks to the PKK ties, hundreds of volunteers arrive in Kurdistan every month. Basically, they are people of the left. The Communist parties of many European countries organized the dispatch of volunteers to combat IGIL. This is primarily Germany, Spain and Italy. The media regularly received information about the arrival of Russian volunteers. It also became known that a group of Frenchmen who had previously helped the separatists in the Donbass also arrived in Syria. A long siege and brutal fighting for the city of Kobani pushed the world public to express solidarity with the besieged. The days of Kurdish fighters in Syrian Kurdistan are under regular bombardment of terrorists.

Syrian Kurdistan v. Turkey

The Turkish government has long been in conflict with the Kurds. In Turkey itself is home to a huge number of Kurds, who still do not have autonomy. Because of this at various times, there were revolts, which were brutally suppressed by the Turkish authorities. The PKK regularly conducts firefights with the Turkish police in urban neighborhoods. Turkey repeatedly demanded that the United Nations recognize the Kurdish rebel formations as terrorist. President Erdogan personally said that he would not allow the creation of a Kurdish national state at his border. In response, the Kurds resumed active sabotage activities on the territory of Turkey itself. In a protracted operation of government troops against the Kurds, more than a hundred soldiers have already died. The rebels are actively supported by the Syrian Kurdistan. Will there be peace and freedom in the region, is still unclear.