Syrian Kurdish politician calls for unity of Kurds

Duvar English

Ilham Ahmed, the head of the executive committee of the Syria Democratic Council, has called for the unity of Kurds, as she praised Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Kobani's recent remarks on the issue.

Kobani recently launched an initiative for "Kurdish national unity" in northern Syria, which was backed by the Kurdish National Council.

"In the light of this chaos and conflicts in the region, this initiative came at the right time," Ahmed told Hawar News Agency, adding that "the response to this initiative will have a big impact, especially if it is positive."

"It would be a historical step to participate in this initiative via adopting a serious decision and stance. Kurdish people need to make decisions independently. All of the steps to be taken courageously in this process would be historical in terms of Kurdish unity and serving the people," she added.

During the interview, Ahmed praised the formation of a committee to "investigate the rights violations and crimes" in the areas in northern Syria that Turkey carried out its military operation.

"Turkey is the sponsor and supporter of radical groups and therefore, it takes full responsibility for the violations that are taking place there," she said.

Turkey carried out three military operations in northern Syria in three years, with the most recent one being Operation Peace Spring that was launched on Oct. 9, 2019 against the People's Protection Units (YPG) - the main group in the SDF.

The offensive was carried out with Syrian rebels that Ankara backs.

Turkey perceives the YPG as terrorists due to its links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which was designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.