At the end of 2016, “we can now fortunately say that nearly all of Kurdistan’s land has been liberated,” President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani said in a New Year message.
Kurdish Peshmerga progressed into areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad on the battle fields and Kurdish authorities have said they have extended their territories by as much as 40 percent since 2014.
Barzani also hailed “fruitful” political developments in the region, noting that many high level diplomats had visited in 2016, expressing support and appreciation for the Peshmerga. He also noted that efforts were being made to resolve internal political disputes.
He expressed his hope that 2017 would see the end of war and terrorism and the promotion of peace and prosperity.
The jailed co-leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey, Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, released a public statement from prison.
“2016 was a year of heart-wrenching suffering. We leave behind a year that witnessed sorrow, tears, and death, but at the same time struggle and resistance.”
Their imprisonment does not prevent them from having hope, they state. “We know that beautiful days are waiting for us. We will struggle in order for 2017 to be a year when the forces for democracy, peace, labour, freedom, and equality will stand and progress together, and when the people will attain the justice they demand.”
Kurdish forces in northern Syria recounted military success in 2016. “We can say that 2016 was the year when the terrorist ISIS was broken down,” said Rêdûr Xelîl, spokesperson of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), in an interview with ANF News.
He described victories in Manbij and major gains in the Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) progress towards Raqqa and spoke positively of relations with the US and the global anti-ISIS coalition.
“We can say that the relation between YPG and the coalition is at the highest level at the moment,” he said.
Acknowledging that the war against ISIS and terrorist forces in Syria will remain violent in 2017, Xelîl remained optimistic of victory. “2017 will be the year of success,” he said, a year when the forces terrorizing the population will “come to an end.”
“In 2016, resistance began and ended with success,” said the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) of northern Syria in a New Year statement. They described 2016 as a year of “freedom and liberation of women” saying that their fighters were able to rescue thousands of women and children and hundreds of women, including Kurds and Arabs, joined their ranks.
