Thread by @RenaNetjes

#NESyria KNC's Fouad Aliko (Yekiti, he is in exile) tells Syria TV that the US wants to restart the intra-Kurdish talks. The KNC wants the Self-Administration to release all political prisoners first: 'Last night 3 journalists were released, a positive step.'

Aliko: The talks have been on hold for 1.5 years, now with what is happening in Ukraine and between the US and Russia, the Americans do not want to leave Syria to the Russians.

And he made some other interesting points. Will tweet them later.

#NESyria The intra-Assyrian/Syriac (christian) talks are moving faster than the intra-Kurdish talks...

ADO's Gabriel Moushe (left) spent considerable time in a regime prison.

https://twitter.com/athro14/status/1515443848616587268?t=i8DTgUVGAs19JIlc6QzHGw&s=19

Day 34 already of the siege of the two Kurdish neighborhoods, Sheikh Maqsoud & Ashrafiyya, by the regime in Aleppo.
And day 10 of the SDF siege in return of the regime held areas in Qamishli/Hasaka.

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1515631274068750338?t=vV8r1Ti9MDerxVfyWRmwjw&s=19

Syria TV: 'An agreement between the Assad regime and the SDF to ease the mutual siege in Aleppo and Hasaka.'
(I assume Hasaka means the province here, so Qamishli is included)

In case you are wondering why there are regime areas in the 2 largest cities in the Kurdish PYD led Self-Adminstration area. The regime struck a deal with the PYD (Syrian PKK branch) in 2012, but kept a military foothold in Qamishli incl airport and Hasaka

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1515657799598063618?t=GQfrINh7_gkisrXCbS5TAg&s=19

And in northwestern Syria, the PYD/YPG helped the regime retake rebel held eastern Aleppo in 2016.

Annual reminder that the US-backed SDF is providing the Syrian regime with fuel (through businessman Qaterji), despite US-imposed Caesar.
"Fuel the regime uses against our fellow Syrians in the west," as one leader of the Kurdish Nat Council put it.

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1515676662934953991?t=NuKv6vZrMDgt1lAvIZpUvw&s=19

And Qaterji himself is sanctioned too, by the US.

#NESyria Update Qamishli:

https://twitter.com/HussamHamoud/status/1516207358778687493?t=y9FljbcEttK3b-vrqahz4A&s=19

Last night a Kurdish National Council (= opposition to PYD, main difference: anti-Assad, which the PYD is not) was attacked in Hasaka. This comes right after the attacks on KNC offices in Debersiya and Malikiya. Normally the 'Revolutionary Youth' a fellow

https://twitter.com/HASAKH_NEWS/status/1516676652742451203?t=xfhxCnnjrM46ssMjyudylw&s=19

..Kurdish organization, or rather a gang of street children belonging to PKK's Aldar Xelil (not his real name) is behind those attacks. Ongoing for years already..

The KNC just issued a (or: another) statement about these events in #NESyria

I received this from Mohamed Ismail, KDP/KNC, #Qamishli:

"In the late night of Monday, April 18, 2022, an armed group affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD) set fire to the headquarters of the Kurdish National Council in the city of Derik and the office of the..."

"..Kurdistan Democratic Party - Syria in the city of Derbesiya after breaking doors and windows, and throwing Molotov cocktails at them. These armed groups burned this office again on Tuesday, April 19, also on Wednesday night, which led to burning it completely and causing .."

"..severe material damage, and this intimidating behavior endangered the lives of citizens of the two areas.
In addition, more than ten PYD gunmen raided the office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party - Syria in the city of Hasaka on Tuesday evening, April 19, 2022, and intimidate"

"..party members and guests in the office."

..They were taken out at gunpoint before they set fire to the entire office with Molotov cocktails.
Several attempts were also made to burn the office of the Kurdistan Yekiti Party - Syria in Amuda on Wednesday night, but they were not successful. They also tried to burn the.."

..council office in Terba Sabi.
These terrorist acts were preceded by incendiary marches in all Kurdish cities and towns, bearing slogans of treason against the Kurdish symbols, the KDP - Iraq, the KNC and the Peshmerga forces, with the
aim of dragging the region into sedition

"..and internal fighting.
Not only did PYD militants burn the offices, but they also abused the sanctities and symbols of our people, and burned the Kurdish flag in an aggressive act that contradicts Kurdish values ​​and morals, which confirms that this system targets our ppl.."

".. and works to undermine their legitimate cause as an authentic people living on a land.."

..historical land.
The continuation of a series of massive violations against our people and the KNC and its supporters by the militants of the (PYD) will have catastrophic consequences for the region in general, and contribute to the emigration of the rest of our people in.."

"...light of the crazy rise in prices and the loss of safety and the spread of theft cases and the increase in the crime rate as a result of the chaos security in the area.
The policy of intimidation practiced by the PYD against our people, and the burning of the offices of the

KNC and its parties, is taking place before the eyes of the international coalition and the United States of America militarily supporting these forces that use violence against us. The American side to exert sufficient pressure on the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces

"..to stop these violations and collapse the entire office burning file.
The Kurdish National Council in Syria condemns and denounces in the strongest terms these terrorist acts and holds the de facto authorities (PYD) and its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces, fully

"...responsible for the dangerous situation in the region in the future.

General Secretariat
The Kurdish National Council in Syria
April 20 2022"

You are right. #Hasaka

https://twitter.com/BedirMula/status/1516877685473128448?t=m5hJsl1YKqO_PoUyJ1-Awg&s=19

Here is the ENKS (Kurdish name) statement of the Kurdish Nat Council in Arabic. Translation into English in tweets above. Yekiti is 1 of the 2 main KNC parties. The largest is KDP Syria, of which Mohamed Ismail is the main representative still in the area.

https://twitter.com/YekitiMed/status/1517001466728398848?t=SzCWczfCKxPnbLCD73W1sQ&s=19

All this violence by the Kurdish PYD (Revolutionary Youth) against their fellow Kurdish KNC comes after the US has just started, again, to try to unite the two Syrian Kurdish blocs...

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1515384441270640648?t=I4GVHRmt8DO9MmJR2VaWdQ&s=19

In the summer of 2020, I wrote this in depth piece outlining all the differences between the Syrian Kurdish PYD and the Syrian Kurdish KNC. Unfortunately, it's still as accurate as hell.
actafabula.net/why-is-it-so-d…

And a shorter version we penned down here:
atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasour…

https://twitter.com/Ebdulbasit/status/1517244415571636224?t=zS8Iwn5RWBZbOHrGDvenlw&s=19

aljazeera.com/amp/news/2012/…

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1526259616383901702?t=U5CUmDh2WL37onfcTmnQHA&s=19

#NESyria Syria TV reports that Americans have returned to Aleppo province, near Kobani, in the western part of northeastern Syria. Which they left in 2019.

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1526653912849207298?t=rxS-w_yv1TdsDd2W8EJXKg&s=19

Nu de Zweedse steun voor de PYD / Zelf Administratie van Noordoost Syrië zo actueel is geworden, wordt het mss tijd (na 11 jaar) dat ook in Nederlandse media het onderscheid helder wordt gemaakt tussen de (nogal) verschillende groepen Syrische Koerden. /1

Des te meer aangezien maar één groep, de groep met de wapens PYD/YPG telkens een stem krijgt in Nederlandse media, en de andere groepen niet (of nauwelijks). /2

In het voorjaar van 2017, in Genève, kwam ik voor de 1e keer Syrisch Koerdische politici tegen van de KNC (Kurdish National Council/ca. 15 partijen)
Ik vroeg Novin Harsan, activiste, woonachtig in Stockholm, waarom ze niet bij de PYD aangesloten was. /3
oneworld.nl/lezen/achtergr…

"Wij Koerden hebben deelgenomen aan de Revolutie omdat we een democratie willen. De revolutie in 2011 was onze kans om, net als heel het Syrische volk, onze rechten op te eisen. Wij willen dat Syrië een pluriforme, seculiere democratie wordt, met scheiding van staat en religie /4

"We willen geen afsplitsing, geen eigen staat. Wij Syriërs horen bij elkaar; we moeten samenleven. De PYD heeft het helaas op een akkoordje met Bashar al-Assad gegooid. Daar kunnen wij nooit voor zijn." /5

Deze laatste opmerking vooral triggerde me, dat had ik nooit eerder gehoord. Uiteindelijk leidde dat samen met andere vragen over de PYD/YPG tot een onderzoeksvoorstel bij @Clingendaelorg hier het resultaat van twee jaar onderzoekswerk. /6

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1384111611149881348?t=LSlBbIe047H9t6Bnjbl5uQ&s=19

Aangezien bovenstaand rapport bijna een boek is (ruim 80 pag) geworden, hier een artikel waarin ik al de verschillen op een rij zet. Concl: Meeste Syrische Koerden willen niet met PYD samenwerken omdat ze andere Koerden onderdrukt, met Assad werkt(e) /7
actafabula.net/why-is-it-so-d…

Ze zien dan ook met lede ogen de 'verheerlijking' as you will van de groep in het westen aan.

Prominente Syrisch Koerdische KNC leiders bijvoorbeeld hebben het gebied moeten ontvluchten nadat een aantal van hen is vermoord door de tevens Syrisch Koerdische PYD /8

En hier een kort artikel om toch een idee te krijgen wat er allemaal speelt in het Koerdische deel van Noordoost Syrië en wat Nederlandse media niet echt haalt: /9
atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasour…

To be continued.

In Nederland vertelde een Turkse Koerd mij dat er banden zijn tussen de Turkse PKK & Syrische PYD, maar niet sterk. Echter, als je Noordoost Syrië binnenkomt word je verwelkomd door de Turkse leider van de PKK. Daarom wilde ik er ook naartoe, met eigen ogen de situatie zien/horen

Dit is één van de grootste problemen met de Koerdische club/PYD die Noordoost Syrië runt. Het voortdurend ontvoeren van minderjarigen. Ik heb heel wat ouders van vermiste kinderen geïnterviewd. Wanhopig. /11

https://twitter.com/Muhammad_Najjar/status/1528424372016398336?t=Kf3vMY6iw0--wWb7xaWgXg&s=19

En dit berichtte de Associatie van Onafhankelijke Syrische Koerden gister: "pyd_pkk militia kidnapped a girl from the city of Afrin in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo." /12

https://twitter.com/kombendakurd/status/1527996489112465410?t=BXxQHhKyT7vK3Dts7oxdWw&s=19

En even belangrijk. Voor veel Syrische Koerden (ik geloof: meerderheid) en arabieren (idem) etc zijn het dealen van de PYD (= Syrisch PKK filiaal) met het Assad regime gewoon onacceptabel: /13

https://twitter.com/Syrians4J/status/1528677253244235777?t=5Z15XIjUFmedhv5ZjX90eg&s=19

"There are multiple agreements between the two parties concerning the security of the common areas as well as the prosecution of Kurdish activists opposed to the regime,” Alu explained."
Klopt als een bus. /14

And the population of Manbij mainly consists of Arabs. /15

https://twitter.com/Levant_24_/status/1528686564196368385?t=uBNmEwRI4sL_Nrc3KJXnAA&s=19

I agree with what is said here. If, if Ankara decides to conduct another military operation in Northern Syria, it is most likely to remove the YPG/PKK from Arab/Arab majority areas, such as Manbij, Tel Rif'at area. Villages between Tel Abyad and Kobani.
syria.tv/%D9%85%D8%A7-%…

What is not much known in the West is that at least 70% under the control of the Kurdish YPG (Syrian PKK branch) are Arabs. /16

In March 2016 I was at a border in southern Turkey, Kilis, and I asked the first Syrian woman I saw crossing the border why she was fleeing. I expected her to say: becuz of the regime/Russian bombing of Aleppo. She: YPG fighters have taken our house. /17

https://twitter.com/SonerCagaptay/status/1529099483589525505?t=D7ds6KPgwGdtw9YjFKTbSg&s=19

I thought: what? Later I understood that she was from the region of Tel Rif'at. This was actually the beginning from which I was triggered to know much more about PYD/YPG. /18

I've no idea if there will be a military operation south of Azaz incl. Tel Rif'at and 50+ villages.

But ideally:
-The Arab IDPs living in the 'Tel Rif'at people' camp on the Turkish border since 2016 w be able to return to their homes.

-The Kurdish IDPs who are there now /19

..would and should be able to go to their homes in Afrin. 'Would' for areas where it is possible, and 'should' for areas where it is not or not safe (part of Bulbul f.i.).
'Would' also becuz now it is the Kurdish PYD that does not allow them to return, only after large bribes /20

What is also quite new (since the fall of last year) is that soldiers of the regime are also 3 km below Azaz. Not just YPG.
(I was on that front line in October)
/21

Interesting in-depth talk here abt a possible new Turkish operation in Northern Syria (Ar), guests:

-Russia may be willing to give up Tel Rif'at, Turkey using Russia's focus on Ukraine now
-There was already a US-TR agreement on Manbij, the US didn't /22

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1529356594202529795?t=Igep4lopNvRmYiYVCEekcA&s=19

..keep it. (I remember Biden's words in 2016, YPG wouldn't stay west of the Euphrates)

- The situation is complicated, in many areas there is more than one military actor, you have YPG plus Russia/regime, YPG plus US and there are Hezbollah/Iranian militias south of al-Bab /23

- Host: We have checked with opposition on the ground, there are no military movements so far indicating a new military operation.
/24

Regarding the US - TR agreement on (majority Arab) Manbij, this is from 24 August 2016: /25
reuters.com/article/us-mid…

This was when the Euphrates Shield Operation began in Northern Syria, against ISIS and for Turkey/FSA also against the expanding YPG: /26

No non-routine ground movements in northern Syria, nor statement about a new military operation according to correspondent Syria TV. /27

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1529447284483801089?t=Dr6vWwI4Id49FnLWSZsItg&s=19

The Arab and Kurdish displaced persons from Tel Rif'at and Afrin must both be allowed to return. Leaving the situation as it is is also not okay. Why not settle this together, US & Turkey? Am I too ambitious? /28

https://twitter.com/humeyra_pamuk/status/1529168975225045000?t=-YSwdlCDNUBItnGzUbMI7A&s=19

In het Neds. Begin 2016 verjoegen Russische bombardementen en Koerdische YPG strijders ca 100,000 arabieren uit Tel Rif'at en omgeving naar de Turkse grens. Geen één kon terug.

En in 2018 sloegen Koerden uit Afrin op de vlucht voor Turkse bombardementen en Arabisch & / 29

...Turkmeense FSA strijders vooral, naar die omgeving van Tel Rif'at. Daarvan is meer dan de helft teruggekeerd naar Afrin. (Heb heel wat terugkeerdeers geïnterviewd in oktober).

Dit is in het heel kort de situatie nu. /30

Oftewel, het hangt allemaal met elkaar samen. /31

Het gaat ervan komen, als ik dit lees: een nieuwe Turkse militaire operatie in Noord Syrië:

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1529867658799333381?t=x7330HUWRAjd1pEaxqsf1Q&s=19

For the area of ​​Tel Rif'at, south of Azaz, east of Afrin, north of Aleppo:

I have asked various professional sources, civilians and military, Arabs and Kurds, in Azaz and in Afrin, if there are any military mobilizations on the ground: nothing.
#NSyria

"At least 837 children were recruited in Syria in 2020 alone, where the SDF ranked second in recruitment and use of children with 119 cases, after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Islamist group, according to the United Nations report on “Children and Armed Conflict” english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2022/…

..for 2020."

"The report also mentioned that recruitment is taking place by kidnapping children even from schools, not only in the streets or neighborhoods." /33

#Jarabulus "Our correspondent: A demonstration took place in the city of Jarablus, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, to demand the liberation of the occupied areas by the terrorist SDF militia."

https://twitter.com/Sharqya_reporte/status/1530167886815318018?t=vbXnCfdWbFZjVSvSRfqTTg&s=19

A recap from my Kurdish contacts in Amouda, Northeast Syria: People are very concerned about a possible Turkish incursion.
People are poor, a lot of people are sick, there is hardly electricity. They also have had enough of the PYD/PKK rule.

I think this sums it up. / 35

Er worden nog steeds Yazidi meisjes ontvoerd in Syrië (Irak volg k niet nauwgezet)

"ما زالت منظمة الشبيبة الثورية تقوم بخطف الأطفال القصر وتقتادهم إلى جبهات مجهولة بشكل ليس للكرد السوريين ناقة فيه ولا جمل، رغم التنديد والاستنكار لذلك" مجلس ايزيديي سوريا"
rozana.fm/ar/news/2022/0…

Niet door IS maar door de "Revolutionary Youth" die behoort tot de PYD, de club, die Noordoost Syrië en een klein stukje in Noordwest Syrië runt.
Noordwest: twee wijken in Aleppo en Tel Rif'at en omgeving.
/37

My sources from Amouda, Northeast Syria: Russian planes over Amouda yesterday and early this morning.

/38

My sources in Amouda speak of abt several (abt 6) Russian helicopters that flew along the border with Turkey yday towards Debersiya, abt 5 meters from the border. And this morning a Russian plane came and went at about 5 am. Russia wants to say: We are here. /39

'The Russian helicopters flew from Qamishli towards Debersiyya, and beyond, in the direction of Ra's al-Ayn.'

/40

By the way, if the new Turkish military operation will be Tel Rif'at / south of Azaz, north of Aleppo, it will rather be the opposite of what 99% believe in the western media.

In early 2016, Russia & the Kurdish YPG/PKK expelled 100,000+ Arabs from FSA controlled Tel Rif'at. /41

From my civilian & military sources on the ground in Azaz just now: nothing to be seen so far. /42

To state the obvious, in the US zone of influence in northeastern Syria, Russia has an airport: Qamishli airport.

Syria TV reports meetings between the YPG-led SDF and the regime at the airport under Russian auspices. /43

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1530547154393174017?t=7Yeey3_UFg9aZcdbBiYKXg&s=19

Syria TV also reports joined patrols of Russia with SDF and with the regime along the border between Amouda and Debersiya. (I know that road) /44

Syria TV: 'Russian warplanes target the outskirts of the city of Marea in the countryside of Aleppo with missiles.' Marea is opposition-held area.
/45

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1530653756639137795?t=7bN-wKWBVESNLZpOI-bf-w&s=19

Twee weken geleden dit:
Rusland is flink bezig in verschillende gebieden in Noord Syrië. /46

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1525484699812089864?t=lPBj166FFhghW41vLS2JKw&s=19

Becuz I don't write propaganda. Yes, I also thought it couldn't be. I hear a lot of stories from other Syrian Kurds that don't make it into Western media
Btw, why did u tell ppl in the NE that they should h never let me in? And I know I'm not the only one

https://twitter.com/vvanwilgenburg/status/1181702630214688769?t=rWD2vmE7cmMZWwhbgJpUkg&s=19

We were held captive for 4 hours so I don't have much appetite to go back in. But still a Dutch acting versus fellow journalists or researcher..

Dutch diplomats told me in 2019, you cannot go back to Istanbul if you go to Northeast Syria.

Turkish and several western journalists here in Istanbul said: you can, we've done it, we're doing it. And they were right.

To be honest Sweden. Knowing some about PKK practices (kidnapping minors, assassinating opponents etc) I am also a bit shocked that you officially invited Ilham Ahmad of the PKK.

https://twitter.com/AnnLinde/status/1184506179357171712?t=_SVsQflnrV4ovGS5C3LhZg&s=19

And let's be very clear here, for me this has nothing to do with Turkey or the Turkish stance, because I think of course that Sweden and Finland should join NATO asap and be protected from Russia, but for me it has everything to do with the Syrian (and other) victims.

Important for Western media: Tel Rif'at and Manbij are Arab areas controlled by the Kurdish YPG. Presence of the regime and also Russia in Tel Rif'at / Tel Rif'at area.

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1531945708609216514?t=tu0c-ulRfJ0JBNVzvCOYJA&s=19

Some thoughts I've shared before:

1) Biden promised Turkey in Aug 2016 that the YPG/PKK would withdraw from (vast majority Arab) #Manbij after SDF (YPG and Arab brigades) liberated Manbij from ISIS. It didn't happen.

2) SDF forcibly conscripting Arab young men for military service against their will in Manbij. There have been many protests in Manbij against this practice.

3) And just to make it clear, I am afraid that civilians pay a price in a military operation. I just want to share some insights that are maybe not very well known to the western public, the media.

4) Here's an article about the demonstrations and general strike in Manbij against this forced conscription last year.
enabbaladi.net/archives/485333

5) Then Tel Rif'at. It was the YPG w Russia who expelled the total Arab population of Tel Rif'at and 50+ villages in early 2016. This was before any Turkish military operation in northern Syria. Let's have the facts on the table. Cutting the YPG propaganda here.

6) When the Self Administration of Northeast Syria talks about demographic engineering in Northern Syria, well, they did it in Tel Rif’at. Personally, I think this triggered the Turks, because YPG was heading to Azaz, an important and even bigger Arab town on the border w Turkey.

7) Over the years I spoke with refugees from Tel Rif'at in Turkey (Kilis, Gaziantep, Istanbul) and IDPs in Northern Syria. Jabha Shamia fighters on the front line just south of Azaz (October 2021) were (a bit to my surprise) majority from Tel Rif'at: "We just want to go home".

8) I bet the 10,000s of displaced from the area of ​​Tel Rif'at (many of them in the "Tel Rif'at ppl camps" on the Turkish border) 'll welcome the news that Tel Rif'at may be liberated (I'm pretty sure that they'll see it like this) of the PKK

Now, there is the following major..

9) concern. The PYD/PKK is holding 10,000 Kurds who fled the Turkish/SNA military operation in Afrin in 2018, and they cannot return because the PYD doesn't let them. Not that the situation in Afrin is very welcoming esp in bad parts but Kurds who can pay the bribes are returning

10) I wrote this about the 'Kurdish gang' in Afrin (what they call themselves) who work day and night to get the Kurds back from the Tel Rif'at area to Afrin.

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1484443132670496768?t=qX15GZhZMVzexIzH7VGPSg&s=19

11) Kurdish politician Abdolaziz Tammo (KKS) brother of the assassinated Mash'al Tammo, tells me: We have tried so hard to get the Kurds from Afrin in the Shahba (Tel Rif'at area) camps back to their homes, but the PYD is not letting they don't go. Now we are afraid that they..

12)..will take them to Raqqa. Camps have been set up near the city of Raqqa. This would be such a sad thing."

13) In February 2016, Russia bombed FSA held (since 2012) Tel Rif'at, between Aleppo and Azaz, and YPG/PKK from nearby Afrin entered. I received this video from a resident who fled w his family to an IDP camp on the Turkish border. After 6 months they managed to get into Turkey.

I say it humbly guys, but I was right :) I was thinking most probably Manbij or Tel Rif'at..

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1528793306527895554?t=eLC6Mq9CiK9ePXAyu3709Q&s=19

The US cud have easily prevented this by 1) indeed returning the YPG fighters in Manbij to the eastern Euphrates, as Biden promised in 2016. 2) Take seriously the concerns of the IDPs from Tel Rif'at and listen to all these Kurds who begged the US to..

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1532019108325236737?t=MKYjOtz4OUSSPk1CBG08YQ&s=19

...to put pressure on the PYD in the Tel Rif'at area to allow the Kurds who want to return to Afrin to return.

The US just ignored all of the above.

If you want to read more about it:

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1406629579553390595?t=Z-GsJBNiyMoNoNpeqwzjMw&s=19

This doesn't make sense at all. The FSA fought against ISIS before YPG did. And cleared ISIS out of Northwest Syria with less help than YPG got. There is no ISIS threat in Tel Rif’at nor in Manbij. The US sounds like the YPG/PKK spox.

https://twitter.com/kjovano/status/1532062586614992896?t=JcvvzouBwK-0YRvT1yjXQA&s=19

Let me be Zelenky-esque clear here. It's nonsense. Tel Rif'at was not even under ISIS control when the PKK/YPG expelled the Arab population in 2016.

I mean, it was the US itself that helped the FSA brigades in the area, in Marea esp by dropping weapons so that the FSA groups could stand their ground against ISIS. Have they forgotten? And later US airstrikes in Jarabulus (August 2016) and (near) al-Bab (January 2017).

Al-Bab:
al-monitor.com/originals/2017…

Jarabulus (north of Manbij).
I was there at the border (begin Sept 2016) shortly after this happened:
france24.com/en/20160824-tu…

The US rejects another Turkish military operation in northern Syria, Russia is apparently willing to discuss/ Lavrov.

Tel Rif'at is under Russian influence.
Manbij is still under kind of both American and Russian influence (no US presence).

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1532663467894878211?t=KuSj4u66YudyPC_WglyRog&s=19

Syria TV: SDF also appears to be escalating in recent days with an attack on Tel Abyad and near Ra's al-Ayn. In Tel Abyad, civilians were hit, near Ra's al-Ayn, a military point of the SNA.

Corresp Syria TV in Ra's al-Ayn: Tension is rising in the area. SDF has been firing at Tel Abyad and Ra's al-Ayn for 2 days. And the Turks/SNA respond to the fire sources, at Tel Tamr and at near Ein Eissa. SDF fires about every hour. #NESyria

With American weapons I wonder?

"The YPG has conducted at least 100 attacks on Syrian rebel-held territories and Turkish military bases in the form of rockets, anti-tank missiles, cannon fire and multiple rocket launchers,” the military source said." By @leventkemaI

https://twitter.com/leventkemaI/status/1532749775581364228?t=xHUI34g6Dx3z3oQCWqRj_A&s=19

I don't count myself, but it's really a lot. Every night while I was there you could hear the shooting at Azaz from the Mar'ranaz & Kafr Khashir frontlines (3 km south of Azaz) fronts held by SDF.

Or: towards Azaz. Thank God not always with (civilian) casualties as a result, but there have been several in recent months and years.

I was in Sijjo last year. These people have been in (often) make shift camps since begin 2016. The West sends aid, but no structural solution. These people just want to go home.

Personally, I think this should have been negotiated a long time ago.

https://twitter.com/Levant_24_/status/1532780479304421376?t=z6TCrPO5dHVJaJ2SNq2x2A&s=19

The Americans have no troops in Manbij, so basically it's also only under Russian influence. Like Tel Rif'at.

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1532775025903816704?t=_ZzkrfGmGM3P4mKLJG0D4Q&s=19

It is pointed out here that Turkey mainly needs the green light from Russia, and what Russia might want in return:

- Reopening of airspace to Syria?
- Blocking Finland/Sweden's access to NATO?

reuters.com/world/middle-e…

About Russian bases, movements and dealings with SDF in the western part of Northern Syria incl Aleppo:
alquds.co.uk/%D8%B1%D9%8A%D…

2017 "The Pentagon explicitly notified the commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, that they are not concerned with what is happening in Afrin, and they have to reach an understanding with Russia, as it is a Russian sphere of influence according to the Russian-American understanding"

"This forced Abdi to enter into direct negotiations in the city of Aleppo with the Russian side, at the end of 2017 and early 2018 in order to spare Afrin the Turkish invasion. However, Russia’s insistence on the proposal to hand over Afrin to the regime was met with a.."

"..categorical rejection by the SDF leadership, which angered Moscow and made it agree to the Turkish intervention in Afrin, and this was accompanied by the collapse of the de-escalation zones established by the Astana track between the three countries (Russia, Turkey and Iran)."

Afrin City short 🧵

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1532826302717300736?t=ynzel-fEIOr7vZwBdRAvFQ&s=19

Updates from Afrin City this morning:

- the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) has fired the (Kurdish) head of the city council, Mohamad Said Suleyman.
(I interv'd Suleyman in October, he is a Kurdish businessman who had to live outside Afrin becuz of the PKK, but returned in 2018)

Knowledgeable Kurdish & Arab sources in Afrin City tell me:
“Those who opened fire and used tear gas as soon as the protesters approached were the guards of the Vali.
The SNA brigades stood next to the protesters. No way they fired at the protesters"

"3 injured after last night's demonstration in Afrin City."

"Unfortunately, unfortunately the building of the (majority Kurdish) local council was set on fire and official records and real estate documents (proving who the owner is) were lost in the fire."

One source: "I think this is a dangerous game, and comes from certain directions."

One of the protesters demands (yday evening) was not to remove migrants from homes until a replacement home is guaranteed.

This is very bad news for Kurds returning to Afrin. There is a huge shortage of houses in the province of North Aleppo.

The most remarkable finding of my trip to Afrin last March was the Response to Grievances Committee, initiated by a Kurdish leader of the Levant Front, Ahmad Misto. The commission consists of 70 Kurds (lawyers f.i.) and Arabs to return all property to its rightful owner.

The initiative, taken by Levant Front (al-Jabha al-Shamia, @trouw en @Nieuwsuur ) was hindered by others in Afrin, committee members told me last year. In October I saw that their office was closed.

These are the demands of yesterday's protesters. The one mentioned above is the last one here.
This doesn't look good.

Civil society activists in Afrin made a statement about yesterday's events:
"هاد بيان طالعناه نحن ناشطين مدنيين لحماية مطالب الناس وحماية المؤسسات::"

"الى الأعزاء السادة و السيدات القادة المجتمعيين و الممثلين عن مختلف فئات المجتمع من قادة عسكريين و مشايخ ندعوكم للوقوف عند واجباتكم تجاه أهلكم و أن تكونوا قريبين من الحراك لتحقيق المطالب المحقة و منعاً لإعادة سيناريو الأحداث المؤسفة التي حصلت ليلة الأمس"
#حقهم_حقنا

"To the dear ladies and gentlemen, community leaders and representatives of various segments of society, including military leaders and sheikhs, we invite you to stand up to your duties towards your people and to be close to the movement to achieve the right demands and to.."

"...prevent a re-scenario of the unfortunate events that occurred last night."

Concerning this. A civil society activist tells me: I think they intended to remove him and replace him with one of the Amiraat (one of two Arab clans, originally from Afrin, but clearly part of a small minority).

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1533004542199185408?t=u0Jtz8sLvd60OEwibDEqKQ&s=19

Syria TV: After a message from the electric company and turned out to be false about a 20 hours blackout today Saturday, this all happened. Long power cuts (9, 10 hrs) had occurred though.

https://twitter.com/syr_television/status/1533025870696398848?t=vuYFeE-WqnG6LNOjlH9a_w&s=19

Syria TV: protesters stole computers from the local council building.

In this piece more about the now former chairman of the predominantly Kurdish Council of Afrin City. My impression was that he was working with what he could to improve the situation in Afrin City.

https://twitter.com/RenaNetjes/status/1484443132670496768?t=A7ji-KbZM_5_041CzLzJqw&s=19