Past ‘mistakes’ should not be repeated in Aleppo: Opposition leader

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hadi Albahra, president of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), told Rudaw on Monday that they have learned from the “mistakes” they made in the early years of the Syrian civil war, adding that the rights of all components, including Kurds, should be respected. His remarks come amid the recent takeover of large swathes of the city’s eastern part. 

“We have learned from past mistakes and the events of the previous years, especially in the early stages of the revolution, and there has been great care taken not to repeat them in Aleppo against any Syrian citizen, not just our Kurdish brothers and sisters. This care extends to all Syrians,” Albahra told Rudaw’s Omer Sonmez during an exclusive interview in Istanbul. 

The SNC is the political wing of a coalition of Syrian opposition groups backed by Ankara. 

Syrian troops, who controlled bordering areas of Shahba, withdrew from the area earlier this week as the regime forces were being defeated in western Aleppo by a coalition of militant groups spearheaded by the Jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Rebel forces spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists launched a major attack on Aleppo’s western countryside on Wednesday and reached within ten kilometers of Aleppo city, taking government positions and Syrian army bases along the way.

The Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of  Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh remain in the hands of Kurdish forces. 

 

Nuraddin Baba, a member of an operation room which supervises the HTS-led offensive, told Rudaw on Monday that they are in ongoing talks with the Kurdish forces for their "safe withdrawal" from both Kurdish neighborhoods. 

He sent a message to the residents of both neighbourhoods via Rudaw that “they are our people and we are very happy that they returned to us and we returned to them, and that we will implement all measures of respect and all international measures in their treatment, and that they are innocents who were victims of a party that aggressed upon them and abused them.” 

The opposition forces have been accused of violating human rights and carrying out a demographic change in Kurdish-majority areas like Afrin. 

Albahra, whose coalition does not include the HTS, said they have not seen any reports of violations in Aleppo.

“Aleppo is characterized by a diverse population, encompassing various religions, sects, and ethnic backgrounds. It is home to a wide range of communities. Therefore, there has been a significant emphasis on fully respecting human rights in dealings with everyone, considering people’s personal privacy, and safeguarding both private and public property,” added the politician,” he said. 

Albahra’s coalition has also launched an offensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Aleppo’s Tal Rifaat town where hundreds of thousands of displaced Kurds live. Part of the town has reportedly been lost to the opposition fighters. 

SDF’s general commander Mazloum Abdi said early Monday that they are working with “relevant parties” in Syria to safely evacuate the people of the strategic town to northeast Syria (Rojava) - which is mostly held by his fighters. 

When asked about potential cooperation between them and the HTS jihadists in Aleppo during a press conference earlier on Monday, Albahra told Rudaw “Those who stand against oppression will not oppress others because oppressing others is a double crime.” 

“We didn't start the revolution to replace a dictatorial regime with another dictatorship. All of us, including our brothers in Aleppo, whether the National Army or other factions, stood against oppression,” he added. 

Thousands of Kurds, previously displaced from Afrin, are stuck in their cars and on roads while trying to leave the Shahba area of Aleppo province.

One of the individuals told Rudaw that they have been stuck on the way near a cement factory and near Ahdas area since late Sunday

Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Kurds, fled their hometown of Afrin in 2018 in the face of a military operation by Turkey and its Syrian proxies, residing in Shahba and other Kurdish-held areas.

Albahra told Rudaw that one of the objectives of the latest operation by their fighters in Tal Rifaat and others is “to ensure the return of all Syrians, with all their components, including our Kurdish brothers from Tal Rifaat, Ras al-Ain [Sare Kani], Afrin, or any other area.”

He added that those who have lived in Afrin and did not commit any crimes are allowed to return to their home. 
 
“Syrian lands belong to all Syrians, but we support the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of all refugees. This is one of the goals of the current operation. The call for return will not be made until military protection is secured, the area is safe, and people can travel back without facing danger along the way,” he stressed. 

 

HTS, a former branch of al-Qaeda, is the prominent force among dozens of rebel factions in the northwest. The group, which has been internationally recognized as a terror organization, controls large swathes of Idlib as well as parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces.