NEWS CENTER - Stating that ISIS attacked the Kurds with the guidance of the Turkish state, PKK Executive Committee Member Murat Karayılan said they were the ones who fought ISIS which attacked Shengal and feared by everyone.

 

PKK Executive Committee Member and Kurdistan People's Defense Center Headquarters Commander Murat Karayılan spoke to Özgür Politika Newspaper and spoke about the developments during the ISIS attack on Shengal.

 

Karayılan reminded that the popular movement that started in Tunisia and spread to the entire Middle East and mostly to the Arab countries at the beginning of 2011 was called the "Arab Spring", but that international hegemonic powers distorted and reversed this process, and told that Salafi groups such as El Nusra, Free Syrian Army, İhvan-ı Müslim, El Kaide mushroomed in the region.  Karayılan stated that ISIS, which was an ordinary organization among them, was suddenly grew, Karayılan said: "These groups couldn't have been in a position where they almost dominated the Middle East without financial and logistic support. There are some actors who fed these groups. It is clear that this was planned."

 

12 PEOPLE WERE SENT TO HELP

 

Pointing out that the AKP is ideologically related to this trend, Karayılan said that with the guidance of the Turkish state, ISIS changed its plan to head towards Baghdad or Damascus and turned its direction towards the Kurds. Reminding that PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan drew attention to the threat in Shengal, Karayılan said that requests to send forces to Shengal, which is under the control of Iraqi and Southern forces, were not accepted. “But we, as the PKK, do not get the permission of external forces, especially when it comes to the defense of the people. We always plan and carry out the work we need to do with our resources, relying on our own strength. This is a principle for us. Therefore, although our relations were somewhat good, when the Southern forces did not give their consent, we prepared and sent some experienced groups, mainly the command, so that we could intervene in case any bad situation developed there. We sent 12 experienced friends to Shengal under the responsibility of the hero commander Dilşêr Herekol, as has been reflected in the press many times before."

  

3 OF OUR PEOPLE WERE CAPTURED BY THE KDP

 

Noting that those who went to Shengal trained a youth group of 9-10 people and knew the area, Karayılan said: "However, 3 of those friends were captured by the KDP forces in Shengal. In fact, one of them was a friend who was already working there in the community. 2 of them were from the group we sent. But the rest did a certain amount of work with patriotic people, with a few friends who had been doing social studies there for a long time. Martyr Sait Hesen has a very important role in this regard. In particular, they provided invaluable contributions in terms of protecting, guiding and working with this group. In this sense, Sait Hesen had a very important effort and role in the intervention that took place.”

 

ATTACK AGAINST SHENGAL

 

Reminding that ISIS intervened everywhere with a high morale and motivation at that time, and that no forces could stand against them, Karayılan said the following about the Shengal attack on August 3, 2014: "The peshmerga forces could not stand for long in the face of the attack on Shengal. Therefore, they quickly started to leave Shengal. Now, while we are saying these things on this subject, we are not saying it to expose anyone. It was a reality. After comrade Dilşêr Herekol reached us at 9 o'clock on August 3, and conveyed the gravity of the situation to us, we asked him, 'If we send battalions, can you lead? Do you have knowladge enough about the land and what are the risks?" He immediately replied; 'we are ready; we know the land, we've been working hard since we got here.". I asked him, 'Is there anyone from the locals with you?' Friend Dilşêr said, "There is no one with us except the 9 young people we trained here" and told us that some friends were fighting with a group in Shengal, and that he was in Sinunê. Later we realized that they were fighting while he was speaking to us."

 

'WE DECIDED TO ENGAGE'

 

Stating that they decided to engage after this conversation, Karayılan said: "One batallion was waiting at the border of Rojava. We decided to engage. We informed the KCK Co-Presidency and they told us to do what is necessary. We headed towards Shengal. We were advancing towards Shengal while everyone was fleeing from Shengal. We managed to get to our friends in Shengal."

 

SHENGAL MOUNTAIN

 

Stating that the primary objective was to defend Shengal, Karayılan said: "The surrounding was plain, ISIS had tanks and armored vehicles. However, we did not have such opportunities. Therefore, we planned to defend the mountain, not the plain. Our forces took the mountain under protection. ISIS tried to get control of the mountain but they couldn't. They continued to attack for 3 months after that in vein. They didn't have the experience to do defeat us. ISIS understood that they could not defeat us in the mountains. As a result, they took control of the plain while we took control of the mountain."

 

EVERYONE TURNED THEIR WAY TO THE MOUNTAIN

 

Pointing out that a message was given to the people of Shengal to run to the mountains, Karayılan said: "Everyone turned their way towards the mountain. Tens of thousands of people. We had problems accessing water and food. We made calls in that regard but help did not come. Some choppers threw water from above but it wasn't enough. Moreover some of these packages fell on two people and they died. A great tragedy was imminent. Old people and children started losing their lives due to thirst. Then we applied to the YPG Command in Rojava. They were following the process closely. We asked for assistance and they said yes. There was a castle there. ISIS was in control of that castle. They told that if they took that castle a corridor could be opened to evacuate the people. And they took the castle and the corridor was opened and a secure way was established. So the people who had to walk out of Shengal could be evacuated with vehicles. 120 thousand people were evacuated from Shengal in ten days."

 

3 MONTH SIEGE

 

Stating that YPG which provided security for the corridor was subjected to heavy attacks later, Karayılan said the corridor was closed when the YPG withdrew. Underlining that they were the ones to fight ISIS which was feared by everyone, Karayılan said: "The Mount Shengal was besieged.  It was no longer possible to reach by land. From the air, Iraqi helicopters came and went several times. Our friends and the people there were besieged for 3 months. ISIS thought that they could take control of the mountain but they couldn't. Their attacks were repelled and they couldn't get any results."