SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — Demonstration were held in Sulaimani and Erbil on Monday to protest Turkey's attack on Afrin and to show their solidarity with their Kurdish brethren.
Hemin Hassan, the organizer of the protest of Sulaimani, told Rudaw that “our experience has proven that if we as Kurds are not united and if we do not support each other, the outside forces cannot help us.”
Another organizer, Shoresh, said Turkey’s offensive was targeting what had been one of the safest parts of war-torn Syria.
"Surely every Kurd supports Afrin right now because there is great injustice against this nation. For many years the most stable and safest area of Syria has been Afrin. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism they now want to occupy Afrin and destroy the homeland of the Kurds. Now we are protesting that and we hope that the Turkish military will halt its offensive as soon as possible and for peace to be established,” Soresh said.
People in Sulaimani in the Kurdistan Region show solidarity for Afrin on January 29, 2018. Video: Rudaw
Protesters held the portraits of YPG fighters, including Avesta Khabur of YPJ (the all-female force of YPG), who was recently killed in clashes with Turkish troops and the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Khabur drew recognition after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported her sacrificing her life to destroy a Turkish tank in Hememe village on Saturday.
Hassan called on people to take to streets and show solidarity with Afrin, adding that “today we have to put aside all our ideological differences for the sake of Afrin … Turkish media says that Afrin has no Kurdish support from any part of Kurdistan. This means that we have to react.”
A mullah participating in the protest argued that Turkey is misusing religion to further their military offensive.
"It is apparent that the case is political, but religion has been brought into the matter as well,” he explained. “It is unfortunate that the enemies of the Kurdish nation have always used religion when carrying out their dictatorial and chauvinistic plans. We remember how Saddam used Anfal for his plans. He used Quranic Surrahs as a justification for obliterating the Kurdish nation. Today they recite the Fath (Conquest) Surrah for obliterating a nation. And we as mullahs are the mullahs of our own nation."
A Peshmerga who joined the protest said he supported “my sisters and brothers in Afrin with my life and heart for them to bring their democratic project for the Middle East to success, and I hope victory will be theirs.”
One protester considered it a “national and moral duty” to support Afrin while others said the offensive against the region in northern Syria was part of greater persecution of Kurds across all of Kurdistan.
"As everyone is aware, currently there is a lot of injustice committed against the Kurds in the four parts of Kurdistan. This is a great injustice against Afrin. We need to know that regional countries and superpowers will never support the Kurds," said one protester.
"It is a shame for Erdogan that he has besieged Afrin like a wolf pack, killing children, trying to sow seeds of hatred between Kurds and Turks. Shame on Erdogan, who wears a military uniform, but is not man enough to go to the frontlines himself or face a Kurdish girl. I would like to ask him to come to the frontlines himself,” said another.
“Our activities will continue in the coming days,” explained Hassan, including setting up camps to protest, fundraising and artistic activities.
Demonstrations also took place in Erbil on Monday to protest the ongoing Turkish military attack on the city of Afrin.
People in Erbil alike showed solidarity for Afrin on January 29, 2018. Video: Rudaw
The YPG has admitted they lost 43 fighters as of Saturday since the operation began.
At least 51 civilians have been killed since the start of the operation on January 21, the Observatory stated including 17 children and seven women.
Updated at 5:59pm
