The Labour Party (EMEP) Antep MP Sevda Karaca commented on the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) attacks on the Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsûd) and Ashrafieh (Eşrefiyê) neighborhoods of Aleppo. She said the attacks had led to the deaths of civilians, including children, and to the displacement of tens of thousands of people, adding that the political and social will built by the Kurdish people in Syria was being directly targeted.
Karaca said that Turkey’s military presence in the region, the support given to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham administration, and the rhetoric targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were all part of this process. She also said that the bargaining being conducted with the USA and Israel was further escalating tension and conflict in Syria.
Civilians are being targeted
Sevda Karaca said: “Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods are being targeted by attacks carried out by HTS. While civilians, including children, are losing their lives, tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced. The direct bombing of civilian areas and the siege of neighborhoods constitute the current continuation of the massacre-driven line that HTS is pursuing against different national, ethnic, religious, and sectarian communities in Syria. These attacks, in which the Kurdish people are clearly being targeted, also amount to a comprehensive assault on the will of Syria’s peoples to live together.
The political ground and operational space for these attacks are being fed from Ankara. For days, anti-SDF rhetoric coming from the palace government and representatives of the People’s Alliance, increasing military deployments, and open support provided to the HTS administration have made it clear that what is happening in Aleppo is unfolding within the framework of a planned policy in which Turkey is also involved. We once again underline that this aggression aims to eliminate the political and social gains that the Kurdish people have achieved in Syria.
Turkey’s military presence in the region, statements by the Ministry of National Defense that support could be provided if requested by the HTS administration, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s words, ‘we do not hesitate to intervene directly when necessary,’ clearly reveal the role Ankara has assumed in the region. It is evident that the attacks in Aleppo are not independent of the palace regime’s regional plans. Moreover, at a time when a so-called ‘process’ on the Kurdish question is being spoken of in Turkey, pointing weapons at Kurds in Aleppo directly targets hopes and expectations for peace. It is assumed that the contradiction between talking about a solution at home while pursuing a policy of war abroad can be hidden from the people.”
These attacks are not limited to Aleppo
Sevda Karaca said that the background to the ongoing attacks in Aleppo showed that the target was not only a single city, but that a broader political orientation was in operation and added: “These attacks are not limited to Aleppo; the aim is to dismantle the political and social will that the Kurdish people have built in Syria and to force the peoples into submission through jihadist coercion. Attacks that were previously directed at Alawite and Druze are today continuing in Kurdish neighborhoods using the same methods. What remains unchanged is this dark politics that is in operation.
The fact that this line is advancing as a continuation of the bargaining being conducted with the USA and Israel is not a coincidence. Instead of addressing the Kurdish question with the Syrian Kurds on a peaceful and democratic basis, the palace regime is acting through its relations with the USA and Israel, opening space for aggression against the Kurds by placing the HTS administration it supports at the service of these powers. There are constant accusations of partnership with Israel. Yet those who remain silent about part of Syrian territory being left to Israel are trying to target the struggle for recognition of the Kurdish people’s will by exploiting Israel rhetoric inside the country. The military and intelligence mechanisms established with Israel also show that Syria’s future is being shaped through bargaining behind closed doors, outside the will of the peoples.”
The existence of Kurds is being seen as an obstacle
Sevda Karaca said that the emerging political picture showed that Kurds were not being positioned in this equation as a legitimate actor, but rather as an obstacle to be eliminated.
She said that moves aimed at mobilizing Arab tribes through statements by Bahçeli targeting Mazloum Abdi were also part of this approach. Karaca said, “In this picture, the presence of Kurds is not treated as a matter of rights, but as a problem that needs to be overcome. Policies aimed at provoking Arab tribes through Bahçeli’s statements targeting Mazlum Abdi are among the clear indicators of this outlook; moreover, it is not possible for this stance to produce any result other than deepening tension and conflict in Syria.”
Karaca said that the attacks on Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo must come to an end immediately and made the following call: “The jihadist forces stationed in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh must withdraw from the area. The lives and safety of civilians must be urgently secured. Turkey must end its military presence in Syria and abandon the expansionist and destructive policies it is pursuing through HTS. All reactionary forces in the region, first and foremost USA imperialism and Israel, must withdraw from Syria.”