Nouri Mahmoud: Liberating the occupied territories is a priority for our forces

The Spokesman for the People's Protection Units (YPG) explained that liberating the areas occupied by Turkey is a priority for their forces and confronting attacks within the framework of the People's Revolutionary War is their primary choice.

10 October, 2023 02:00

AL_HASAKAH, ARAM AHMED

With the entry of the fifth annual region, the attacks of the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries began on the areas of Serêkaniyê / Ras al-Ain and Girê Spi / Tal Abyed. People's Protection Units spokesman Nouri Mahmoud spoke in an interview with ANHA's agency about the most prominent developments that occurred before and after the attack, in addition to the continued Turkish occupation attacks on NE,Syria.

Below is the full text of the dialogue, which was as follows:

On October 9, 2019, the Turkish occupation army launched an attack against Serêkaniyê and Girê Spi. Before the attack, several developments occurred, most notably the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces from the border line and the filling of the fortifications. Can you put us of the developments at that stage?

Before discussing the stage of targeting the city of Serêkaniyê and Girê Spi/Tal Abyed, we must first talk about the stage that preceded it, which was the occupation of the city of Afrin. At that time, the Russian forces withdrew from inside Afrin. There is no doubt that there were problems within the global system, such that some world leaders were trying changing the world system, the United Nations system, NATO, and all global systems, and these movements were headed by former US President Trump.

Undoubtedly, when the Turkish occupation attacked the cities of Serêkaniyê and Girê Spi, there were statements by the American president at the time saying: “The problem of the Kurds and Turkey is a historical problem and the American people have nothing to do with it, and Turkey is our ally and can enter Syria as a member of NATO and solve its problems there.”

The balances at that stage, especially during the era of US President Trump and his leadership, gave way to the regimes that Erdogan was aligned with, so that Turkey and NATO could achieve their diplomatic ambitions and tripartite agreements with our forces to withdraw from the region and move back distances so that there would be no wars, and that he could The Syrian people managed their revolution, but what happened was a conspiracy against us.

When attacking our cities of Serêkaniyê and Girê Spi, what we noticed was the tendency of many European countries, led by America, to protect their international interests and not adhere to international conventions and constitutions. They took the interests of their governments as their basis, and allowed a regime like Erdogan’s regime to attack our cities.

On the other hand, there was a societal force that supported Rojava, especially within American society, its intellectuals, clerics, and politicians, and in various countries such as Europe and Asia, and they described the attacks as dangerous to the entire world and unjustified attacks.

Our forces undoubtedly took that experience on the basis of not trusting and relying on international forces. There could be agreements and those forces could be forces friendly to our forces, but they cannot be relied upon. Rather, our reliance will be on our own forces and our own capabilities.

Before the attack, there were several American bases in the cities of SereKaniya and Girê Spi/Tal Abyed. Two days before the attack, those bases were emptied and American forces withdrew from them despite the alliance between you. What is the reason?

The story of the withdrawal of American forces from their bases in our regions, including Serêkaniyê and Girê Spi/Tel Abyed and the areas in which they were located, was linked to the ruling authority at the time and the agreements that took place between the heads of several countries, and was not a commitment to international laws and conventions, and was outside international agreements, and Trump then tried to take advantage from Turkey's strategy, its geographical location, and its air importance, he also tried to take advantage of the American interior, but the American soldiers were not convinced at the time to withdraw, and today we see that in the Middle East and the entire world there are major concessions to Erdogan despite their lack of conviction in Erdogan. What is happening is alignment with their temporary international interests, not international conventions and treaties.

The European and American community and the Middle East stood before this agreement, which was outside the ethics of their society and international laws and constitutions, and the withdrawal of those forces was on this basis, and the position of the peoples of the world and their standing with the revolution of NE, Syria and the People’s Spring Revolution was recently revealed, and there were balances to some extent, but for today There are countries that turn a blind eye to the war crimes committed by Erdogan, and for which he must be held accountable for his use of NATO weapons in his wars, and must be tried in The Hague, all in order to protect their personal interests that contradict international conventions and treaties.

How do you describe the attack launched by the Turkish occupation, especially since it targeted civilians, infrastructure, and even children were not spared, not to mention the use of internationally banned weapons?

Without a doubt, the entire world knows that there are international conventions, human rights, laws of war, international constitutions, and societal values and principles, and all of this was not taken as a basis in the attacks that targeted the NE, Syria, and Erdogan or any international government did not care about them, and unfortunately the concerned authorities, despite the existence of the conventions. And its follow-up to the attacks that targeted our regions and the Turkish state’s use of NATO weapons in front of a people who want freedom and democracy did not hold Erdogan accountable for what he did. Therefore, we see that these organizations and the United Nations are concerned with protecting these conventions, and when matters relate to Rojava and they have interests inside Turkey, they turn a blind eye to crimes, genocide, and change. The demographic that affects our people.

Nothing was spared from Erdogan during the attacks. He targeted children, the elderly, infrastructure, schools, and even places of worship. Had it not been for the peoples who believed in democratic thought and the spring of the peoples and their standing in the face of these attacks within the framework of the revolutionary people’s war, Erdogan would have committed massacres against the peoples and done what ISIS did not do, and today. We see what Erdogan is committing in the region. He has advanced weapons in his hand and he does whatever he wants. In these hours and during our conversation, Erdogan is attacking the region and trying to annihilate the peoples of the region.

On October 17, America concluded an agreement with Turkey, as well as Russia on the 22nd, which included stopping attacks and shooting. However, Turkey has not yet adhered to these two agreements, despite the withdrawal of your forces from the border strip. Who bears responsibility for these attacks?

Yes, these agreements were tripartite, and both Russia and America were responsible for them, and they should have adhered to them, but what we see is that there are daily attacks by Erdogan and his government on our regions with advanced weapons, targeting every person present here, the pioneer and the officials of this revolution, and we know very well that they can stop Turkey with one word, but they remain silent.

Our people, with their organized strength, remained standing and steadfast, and did not depend on these forces that work according to interests

Turkey threatens daily to launch new attacks against the region, and since the beginning of October it has launched violent land and air attacks. Is there your response to these attacks, and can you evaluate the current military situation, and what should the peoples of the region do?

Without a doubt, the Turkish state has entered a new and powerful war phase since the beginning of 2020, that is, after defeating ISIS geographically. Erdogan entered with his army, economy, and diplomacy, and by using the aid provided to Syrian refugees in Turkey to obtain international support. Today's wars against the region and its attacks on NE, Syria are aimed at transferring Turkey's internal problems and exporting them abroad.

Erdogan is not only working to build his sultanate, but he is working to export his problems and cover them up inside Turkey. He is also trying to occupy new parts of Syria and build an army of mercenaries. Today everyone knows how bankrupt Erdogan is at all levels, and he is fighting to stand on his feet or get out. In front of the peoples of Turkey, he is being tried for his corruption, terrorism, and what he is doing inside Turkey. This is why Erdogan attacks the Kurdistan people and their revolution.

Without a doubt, responding to and deterring these attacks is not a new decision. After the attacks on Afrin, Serêkaniyê, and Girê Spi/Tal Abyad, the Autonomous Administration and its institutions took upon themselves how to protect themselves and not break international agreements, and today, to a good level, our people were able to organize themselves within the framework of the People’s Revolutionary War. Our forces, the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are part of the peoples of this region, organized themselves and took measures regarding these attacks. We know very well that there is no military balance between our forces and the forces of the Turkish state that use modern weapons, NATO weapons, and Russian weapons, but our forces possess an organized will that believes in the revolutionary people’s war in order to build a democratic society and a free Syria.

Today, we see that all the attacks of the Turkish state fall within the framework of war crimes, and not within the framework of a just war, and are outside international charters and agreements. Today, infrastructure and vital and public facilities are being targeted. It is trying to starve the peoples of the region and subject them to surrender, but our peoples have become organized, accompanied by their forces, and they are determined to carrying out its military duties.

-Is there any timetable for liberating the areas occupied by Turkey, militarily and diplomatically?

Without a doubt, the cities occupied by Turkey must be liberated, as they are among the priorities of our forces, especially Afrin, Serêkaniyê, and Girê Spi/Tal Abyed, which were occupied as a result of dirty policies, unfair military balances, Turkey’s use of NATO weapons, and the occupation of our cities with war crimes.

We are determined to liberate these cities, and it is one of our priorities, and it will not leave us with a fascist regime like Erdogan’s regime

T/ Satt.

ANHA