Ali: We are ready to defend Şengal at every moment

 For several days, Şengal has been under attack by the Iraqi army and the forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, with the aim of striking the Autonomous Administration and eliminating the Şengal Protection Forces that protect the people of Şengal, which was established after the attacks of ISIS mercenaries on August 3, 2014, following the escape of both the Iraqi forces and the Kurdistan Democratic Party forces.  The people of Şengal were left among the tusks of ISIS.

 Director of the Media Center of the People's Protection Units Siyamand Ali, one of the first fighters who arrived in Şengal during the attacks of ISIS mercenaries on the district on August 3, 2014, explained to our agency that their forces made great sacrifices in order to protect Şengal, and said: "Because protecting Şengal means protecting all religions, beliefs, ethnicities and components in the Middle East as a whole. The People's Protection Units and Women Units have protected the sanctity of the Middle East by protecting Şengal."

 Ali's statements came in an interview with our agency, where he confirmed that their units are fully prepared to respond to the call of the people of Şengal in case they are subjected to new genocidal attacks.  Under the control of the Şengal protection forces and the Autonomous Administration, and they used heavy weapons in their attacks. History witnessed how you failed the people of Şengal during the ISIS attacks, and became partners in the blood that was shed in Şengal. With what right does the KDP attack the people of Şengal?

 The following is the text of the interview:

 • Why did you rush to help Şengal during the ISIS attack on August 3, 2014?

 In August 2014, it was one of the most difficult stages that Rojava went through, and the war was going from Derek to Kobani and the al-Shahba and Afrin areas. ISIS mercenaries were launching violent attacks against the Kurdish areas during that period, and the People’s and Women’s Protection Units showed heroic resistance in the face of those attacks.

 On August 3, 2014, there were violent attacks against the Jaza’a area and Tel  Koçber, and we were stationed there;  We received news that Şengal is surrounded and ISIS mercenaries launch violent attacks.  According to the initial information that we obtained, it was reported that there were many dead and wounded.  As far as we know, Şengal was protected by the Iraqi army and the government of Southern Kurdistan.  However, the information we received indicated that the people of Şengal were being exterminated, so the General Command of the People's and Women's Protection Units issued instructions to direct all fighters close to the border area to Şengal, and I was among the first group that arrived in Şengal.

 While we were heading from Rojava to Şengal, it was in the defense stage, because ISIS was launching violent attacks against us, but after receiving news of what was happening in Şengal, all the fighters decided to go there, and as we headed towards Şengal, violent clashes took place between the People's Protection Units, Women and ISIS mercenaries.  A number of our comrades were martyred and wounded in those clashes, especially in the area of ​​Senuna and Khansur and the road leading to Mount Şengal.

 Why did we go to Şengal?  First, because the people of Şengal are a Kurdish people, and they are in our neighborhood, and secondly, we knew ISIS well. We did not want any of the Şengal people to be subjected to a new genocide. It is the main and historical center of the Kurdish people, which dates back thousands of years, and is home to the oldest regions in the Middle East, in the hands of ISIS mercenaries who were aiming to destroy the historical center of the Kurds.

 • When you arrived in Şengal? Do you remember specific incidents in this context?

 Among the moments that do not leave my mind and my life, as we cross the border between Rojava and Şengal, are scenes of genocide, extermination in every sense of the word, people who lost their lives of thirst, and others as a result of their injuries, children left by their mothers, people who lost their fathers, mothers and peers, and the situation reached them to meet  by themselves from the slopes of those mountains, they ended their lives because they lost all the necessities of life, they ended their lives so that they would not fall into the hands of ISIS, so that their dignity would not be violated after the forces that were protecting them from ISIS left them.

 We only smelled blood, heard screaming, we saw nothing but dust, fear and terror, I never saw what I witnessed in my life, scenes of children who lost their lives of thirst in the wilderness, and the legs of Şengal's sons were torn and filled with blood as a result of  walking tens of kilometers.

 When we reached Mount Şengal, there were thousands of people, who were hoping that one of the forces that sought help would reach them, but only our Units, the people of Rojava, and the People's Defense Forces (Guerilla) responded to their pleas.

 As soon as we arrived, we immediately started building a protection line in the form of two axes, one by the units and the other by the HPG in order to protect the remaining Şengal people there, and then we began to repel the attacks.

 • Who was in Şengal?

 We didn't see any troops in Şengal when we arrived.

 As we headed from Rojava towards Şengal, we saw thousands of Peshmerga escaping, and during their arrival in Rojava, our comrades provided support to them, they were in the thousands.

 • Were you a witness to that?

 Yes, I saw with my own eyes how they were fleeing, we gathered a number of them at one point, among them were wounded and others were terrified and afraid, and we brought them to one of our points in Rojava.

 While they were fleeing, until now I remember the talk of some of them telling us, bring heavy weapons, you will only be able to eliminate ISIS with heavy weapons, and we as units only had our guns and some of our hand grenades.

 The weapons that were in the possession of the Peshmerga were very advanced and modern, but they did not have the will, so they left Şengal and its people.

 What surprised! How did they turn their backs on these children, young men, women and the defenseless?  How did they not give the sons of Şengal these weapons to defend themselves?

 Defending Şengal was a matter of will, not a question of weapons, how did we get there and we were fighting fierce battles, how did the HPG fighters get there traveling thousands of kilometers.  Unfortunately, the Iraqi and the Peshmerga forces, which numbered approximately 6,000 fighters were unable to protect a small geographic area.

 Our units did everything they could to protect Şengal and its people. We formed a ring around Mount Şengal in order to protect the Şengal people and repel ISIS attacks. It was our units and the HPG that defended Şengal and its people.

 • What did the YPG and YPJ save in Şengal?  Did she only save several thousand people, or did she save a culture deep in the history of the Middle East stretching back thousands of years BC?  Can we say that the units have saved an invaluable human heritage?

 If we evaluate our going to Şengal in order to protect a village, country or people, we will evaluate it incompletely.  When we talk about Şengal, we are talking about a history of tens of thousands.  We talk about the history of the Middle East, the source of the Middle East from this region, so we headed to Şengal.

 The enemy, while heading to Şengal, was aware of the extent of Şengal's antiquity, and that eliminating Şengal means eliminating the roots of the Middle East.

 Yes, we made great sacrifices in order to protect Şengal. The YPG and YPJ protected the sanctity of the Middle East by protecting Şengal.

 • As a fighter who came to the rescue of Şengal?  What will be your position and Şengal is currently under attack from the Iraqi army and the Kurdistan Democratic Party?

 Unfortunately, the escape of the Iraqi forces and the KDP forces from Şengal led to another genocide against our Yazidi people.  And the whole world witnessed that our units responded to the help of the Şengal people.

 Today, we see that the Iraqi forces and the Kurdistan Democratic Party began launching attacks against Şengal in order to control it, and remove it from the control of the Şengal Protection Forces and the Autonomous Administration, and they used heavy weapons in their attacks.  History has seen how you failed the people of Şengal during the attacks of ISIS, and you became partners in the blood that was shed in Şengal;  by what right does the KDP attack the people of Şengal?

 We as fighters of the People's Protection Units have so far found the remains of dozens of our comrades who sacrificed their lives in order to protect Şengal in Şengal, and there are dozens of our comrades who were also injured.  But in the event that Şengal is subjected to a new attempt at extermination, we will not stand idly by, and we will respond to Şengal's call, as we explained it the first time.

 We are ready at every moment to defend the people of Şengal and the mountains of Şengal, which withstood the face of all enemies, we are not advocates of war, differences can be resolved through diplomacy, so the Iraqi government must do its duty towards the Şengal people, as long as Şengal belongs to the Iraqi state, it must bear its responsibilities towards Şengal and that  protects, not attacks against her.

 We, as fighters of the People's Protection Units, do not accept that Şengal is subjected to new attacks, and we are ready to do whatever is necessary to protect our people.

 • When you were performing your duty in Şengal, the people of Rojava on the other side of the border received the survivors of the massacres and provided them support?  What is your appeal to the people of NE Syria at this historical stage in the region?

 Yes, in August 2014, they did not bear the responsibility to protect the people of Şengal by the military forces only, but he also carried the entire people of northern and eastern Syria the responsibility of protecting the people of Şengal on their shoulders.  The entire people, institutions, and organizations of north and east Syria declared a general mobilization and headed towards the borders to provide support to the people of Şengal.

 Now we call on all the people of northern and eastern Syria and Kurdistan to rise up in order to protect Şengal, and to be alert to the agreements that are concluded from under the tables.

 Şengal is a sacred place and deserves to be defended, and the whole Kurdish people must know that the forces of the Kurdistan Democratic Party are now seeking to besiege Şengal and commit a new massacre against the Şengal people.

 He stressed that the people of northern and eastern Syria will stand by Şengal, as they stood with it in 2014.

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