(Hurriyet Newspaper, 9 July 2014)
//ed. note: with much of the focus on ISIL's Iraq attack,
its push against Rojava (Western Kurdistan) in northern
Syria has been little noticed. Herewith a timely report with
unique information on ISIL's Rojava battlefront, hard by
the Turkish border.//
The reason why ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levent, or
just Islamic State) has been able to so easily put pressure on
Kobani is because ISIL holds Rakka/Sarrin to the south, Tel
Ebyad to the east and Jarablus in the west. According to
information provided to Hurriyet by Idris Nassan, the deputy
foreign minister of the Kobani Canton, ISIL now surrounds
Kobani on three sides and has taken three villages on the
Euphrates River - Zor Mugar' Beyadi and Ziyaret - some
40-45 kilometers from Kobani.
Rojava's military force YPG (People's Defense Units) drove
ISIL back, resulting in over 100 ISIL casualties. ISIL left
behind an armored Hummer, a tank, a number of docka (?)
and automatic weapons. ISIL evacuated civilians in places
it targeted but also lost 16 lives there. Suleyman Shah's
Tomb (the tomb of the grandfather of Ottoman Empire
founder Osman, which is sovereign Turkish territory) was
attacked by ISIL on Monday and bombs of an undetermined
type were fired by ISIL on Kun Eftar village, just north of
the tomb.
YPG lost two fighters in this battle, while ISIL suffered
losses of between 20 and 30 men. ISIL did not achieve its
intentions in its attack on Jarablus and began an assault
against Tel Ebyad to the east. Yesterday, ISIL hit the
village of Evdiko, 8 kilometers west of Tel Ebyad, and 6
Kurds died in the fighting. ISIL also blew up a tractor
trailer carrying bombs at a YPG location at Ebu Surra
village, 60 kilometers south of Tel Ebyad, resulting in
the deaths of 4 YPG members.
According to local sources, ISIL crucified a number of
Kurds in Jarablus with the aim of inducing people to
leave the area. KCK (Kurdish urban organization) has
declared a mobilization in the region.
Kobani official Nassan renewed his accusation that ISIL
is using the border gates it has seized at Tel Ebyad,
opposite Akcakale, and Jarablus, opposite Karkamis, for
logistical access and the movement of militants. Nassan
stated that "illegal border transits are being permitted at
the Rai location, 40 kilometers west of Kobani."
A journalist from Kobani, Barzan Iso, asserted to
Hurriyet that "even if they say that the border is closed
support is still flowing to regions controlled by ISIL.
Just a little while ago, an aid organization from Qatar
sent assistance to Jarablus."
ISIL-Rojava Battlefront
Why Kobani?
So why is Kobani the target? Rojava lies within the
borders of ISIL's declared' Islamic State' caliphate.
ISIL has stated that it will change the name of Kobani,
which was called Ayn el Arap (Arabian eye) by the
Baathists, to 'Ayn el Islam' (Islam's eye).
Kobani has importance for a number of reasons. ISIL
sees Rojava as an obstacle to its caliphate in the region.
According to Nassan, by seizing Kobani ISIL wants
to demolish the democratic freedom project. In
addition to Kobani, ISIL wants to add Mursitpinar to
the border crossings it already holds in order to
strengthen its position on the Turkish border.
Kobani lies between Jarablus and Tel Ebyad, both
of which ISIL holds. Rather than using the 85
kilometer road from Jarablus to Tel Ebyad, ISIL
must now circumvent Kobani, a distance that
amounts to 250 kilometers. If the Rojava line
falls then ISIL will add another 450 kilometer
region to that which it already has and control
the border with Turkey.
Turkish-Syrian border
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