The events that started with the protests of a group of students in the Syrian city of Deraa in March 2011 turned into a chain of demonstrations with the detention and arrest rush of the Assad regime. The deaths as a result of the attacks of the regime forces caused the demonstrations to spread to other cities and marked the beginning of the civil war in Syria.

 

As the conflict spread, the officers who left the regime army began to take up arms with the soldiers they took with them. On July 30, 2011, the officers, most of whom left the army, announced the establishment of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), with the support of Gulf countries, including Turkey, as well as Qatar.

 

Kurds living in Northern and Eastern Syria, which were not parties to the war, declared their autonomy. The resistance that started in the streets with the declaration of self-government continued with the declaration of a canton in Kobanê on July 19, 2012. The Kurds, who declared cantons in Afrin and Cizîr regions, formed their military with the People's Defense Units (YPG) and Women's Defense Units (YPJ). The intolerance to the demand for autonomy, which the Kurds define as the "Third Way", marked the beginning of the "destructive" policy towards Northern and Eastern Syria.

 

We compiled the attacks against Northern and Eastern Syria, in which Turkey is involved to the full extent, following the ISIS attack on the Sinai Prison in Hesekê.

 

FSA ATTACKS ON SEREKANİYÊ

 

The Guraba al-Sham and Al-Qaeda-linked Al Nusra groups, which were reported to have entered Serêkaniyê from the Turkish border on November 8, 2012, gained dominance in the city. On November 18, groups attacking the Kurds who were in a position of self-defense in the east of the city murdered the Speaker of the Serêkaniyê People's Assembly Abid Xelîl, along with a young man who was with him. After the attack that killed Xelîl, YPG forces launched an operation to liberate the city. Defeated by YPG forces on November 21, 2012, the groups retreated to the western town of Til Xelef and began to organize attacks using tanks. Despite Turkey's interventions, the city was completely under the control of YPG in 4 days.

 

Although the groups positioned in Til Xelef continued their attacks, especially against the border gate opening to Ceylanpınar, on July 19, 2013, YPG flags were hung all over the city to greet the 1st anniversary of the Rojava Revolution. Til Xelef town, one of the centers of the attacks of Al Nusra, came under the control of the YPG on November 5, 2013, with the operation launched on November 1 "in memory of the martyrs of Serêkaniyê".

 

ISIS ATTACKS ON KOBANÊ

 

Meanwhile, ISIS, founded by former al-Qaeda-linked groups in Iraq, has been strengthened with international support, especially by the regional powers. ISIS, which emerged with the ideology of establishing an Islamic Emirate in the Middle East and grew in a short time, occupied Mosul, which was under the control of the Iraqi Army, in 2014 without any conflict. ISIS, which seized all the tanks and heavy weapons of the Iraqi Army in Mosul, attacked Shengal on August 3, 2014. Aiming to occupy Baghdad and Damascus, ISIS began to attack the Kurds with the support of the regional states.

 

ISIS, which occupied Raqqa after that, which is under the control of the Syrian Army, has become a great military power by confiscating all heavy weapons here as well. Declaring Raqqa as the capital of the Caliphate, ISIS spreaded over a large territory by occupying the Syrian cities under the control of the Free Syrian Army without a fight. The attacks of ISIS which was now targeting the Kurds and the Rojava Revolution, was expected to head towards Damascus. However with the instruction of the regional states, it headed towards Kobané and started there.

 

With the ISIS attack on Kobanê, states supporting ISIS tried to control the Turkish border of the Euphrates. ISIS, which made the first attack with heavy weapons from Jarablus, encountered the defense of YPG and YPJ forces and had to retreat. This time, on September 15, 2014, ISIS attacks started from three sides; Jarablus from the west, Ain Îsa and Tabqa from the south, and Girê Spi from the east. Advancing to the city center in a short time with heavy weapons, ISIS appeared very friendly on a lot of photos taken by the journalists with the soldiers of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on the border. Later, it attacked the Mürşitpınar Border Gate of Turkey. Despite Turkish President Erdoğan happily announced that the fall of Kobané was just a matter of time, the city center of Kobané was cleared from all ISIS elements.

 

GIRÊ SPI WAS LIBERATED

 

After the liberation of Kobanê, the people of Girê Spî called on the YPG/YPJ members. After the call, an operation was launched in Girê Spî, which is the logistics base of ISIS, and Girê Spi was liberated on June 15, 2015. Thus, the Kurds gained control over the entire border line from the Federated Kurdistan Region to the Euphrates River. The extension of this control to Jarablus and Ezaz to the west of the Euphrates, which are under the control of ISIS, made Turkey nervous.

 

DEMOCRATIC SYRIAN FORCES

 

The YPG, YPJ and the peoples of the region, who saved Kobanê from the ISIS that terrorized the world, declared the establishment of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at a conference held in Hesekê on October 10-12 2015. YPG, YPJ, Al-Sanadid Forces, Assyrian Military Council (MFS), Burkan al-Fırati, Liva Tuvar al-Raqqa, Northern Sun Brigade, Selcuk Brigade, Al Jazeera Brigades, Kurdish Front, Revolutionary Army, Tahrir Brigade and Liva 99 Mushat established the military force of the Autonomous Administration, started to defend the region.

 

EUPHRATES SHIELD

 

Claiming that a 'terror corridor' is being established across their border, Turkey started to take control of the cities controlled by ISIS one by one with the operation 'Euphrates Shield' on August 24, 2016. Even though it was made to look like an 'operation', ISIS was withdrawing from these cities on its own will, leaving them to Turkey. The Kurds, on the other hand, took control of the territory from Tabqa to Minbic. But Turkey's attacks blocked its contact with Afrin. The international forces that allowed the operations of Turkey, stopped Turkey from getting to the M4 Highway, reventing Turkey from achieving its goal.Turkey and the gangs backed by Turkey attempted to attack Minbic numerous times since then, but couldn't get any results.

 

ATTACKS ON AFRIN

 

The international forces started to block Kurds from getting to Afrin.  Considering the paramilitary groups it placed as a threat in Idlib, Turkey approved Russia's request for the withdrawal of FSA groups in Aleppo to Idlib. Immediately after, on January 20, 2018, it launched an attack on Afrin with the operation it launched under the name "Operation Olive Branch" with 72 warplanes.

 

YPG/YPJ members, who resisted against NATO's second strongest army for 58 days, had to retreat to prevent massacres on civilians. Since 2018, the plundering, harassment, rape, kidnapping and torture of groups under the auspices of Turkey continue in the city.

 

ATTACKS ON SHEHBA AND MINBIC

 

After the 17th meeting held in Astana, Turkey started its attacks against Shehba and Minbîc again. When Turkey repeated what it did in Bab, Ezaz, Jarablus and Afrin, the YPG left the cities to the regime, Al-Akrat forces and the Minbîc Military Council due to Turkey's threats and attacks to seize northern Syria and displace its people.

 

GIRÊ SPI AND SERÊKANIYÊ

 

Turkey's attacks did not end there. On October 9, 2019, Turkey, which received the approval of the United States (USA) and Russia under the pretext of a "buffer zone", launched a simultaneous air and ground attack on Girê Spî and Serêkaniyê, together with paramilitary forces called the Syrian National Army (SMO). Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD) started an 'Honour Resistance' against this attack of Turkey and protected both cities for 9 days despite heavy attacks. According to the military agreement reached between the SDF and the Syrian army on October 13, 2019, the Syrian army sent troops to Tabqa, Manbij, Kobanê, Til Temir and some North and East Syrian cities.Then, with the agreement signed between Turkey and Russia in Sochi on October 23, SDF forces withdrew 30 kilometers behind the border.

 

TURKEY DID NOT GET WHAT IT WANTED

 

Although Turkey launched the Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî attacks with international support, it could not achieve the desired result. Turkey wanted to cut the connection between the Kurds by taking the M4 Highway in all its attacks and to have a say on the Syrian territory. However, it could not go beyond feeding the paramilitary forces that would trouble Turkey in the future. For this reason, it continued the attacks against the Kurds, whom Turkey regarded as a threat to its goals and purposes.

 

ISIS ATTACK ON HESEKÊ

 

Turkey continued its attacks against Kurds. It bombed the cities of Shengal, Maxmur and Rojava with Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones). Groups backed by Turkey, including ISIS members carried out a comprehensive attack on Sinaa Prison, where 5,000 ISIS members were held, in Hesekê on January 20. The attacks of Turkey and its affiliates on the Zirgan, Til Temir and Eyn Îsa lines started simultaneously with the ISIS attack in Hesekê. Announcing that 11 of its members lost their lives during the attacks allegedly involving ISIS members from outside Turkey, the SDF took the Sinaa Prison under control on the 7th anniversary of Kobanê victory on January 26. The operation launched against ISIS cells, on the other hand, continues under the name of "Mace of the Peoples".

 

 

MA / Müjdat Can