Ilham Ehmed, Co-Chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, issued a written statement regarding the attacks by the interim government militias and Turkish state-backed mercenary groups.
Ilham Ehmed’s statement reads as follows:
“Since January 6, groups affiliated with the Syrian army have been carrying out violent attacks against our people. The aim of these attacks is Kurdish genocide, through which they seek to destroy the coexistence based on the brotherhood of peoples. From the moment the attacks began, we tried to resolve the issues through dialogue to prevent new conflicts. To this end, we signed an agreement. The first article of this agreement included a general ceasefire. We asked for a little time for this, but the government did not abide by the agreement it had signed. Therefore, we call on our people to trust themselves, show their determination, and demonstrate their national stance.
Our people, those in Kobanê in particular, put up great resistance against the world’s most dangerous forces in 2014. We are confident that they will put up the same resistance again.
Our people must make their stance clear everywhere in the international arena, in the field of diplomacy, and in matters of self-defense and resistance.
Our call to international powers and the public is to clearly express their position against these genocidal attacks facing our people.
This people sacrificed their children to protect the world. Therefore, you must fulfill your moral responsibility and show your stance.
These attacks against our people must be stopped.