NEWS CENTER – Assessing the attacks in Aleppo, KNK Co-Chair Ahmet Karamus said: “Today we are facing a question of national existence or non-existence. Unity is necessary to protect the gains the Kurdish people have achieved at great cost.”

 

Dozens of Kurds were killed and hundreds injured as a result of attacks launched on January 6 by armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government against the Şêxmeqsûd (Sheikh Maqsoud) and Eşrefiyê (Ashrafieh) neighbourhoods in Aleppo. 

 

The attacks were led by the Hamzad, Ahrar al-Sharqiya (Emşad), Sultan Murad and Nour al-Din al-Zengi groups, which have been armed by Turkey under its “train-and-equip” program. While these paramilitary groups carried out assaults on Kurdish neighborhoods, Turkish Minister of Defense Yaşar Güler issued statements expressing support.

 

‘THREATS AGAINST KURDISH GAINS CONTINUE’

 

Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Co-Chair Ahmet Karamus stated that the attacks on neighbourhoods had been prepared well in advance. Emphasizing that the assaults were carried out at Turkey’s request and planning, Karamus said: “They are openly continuing their threats against the existence of the Kurdish people. The picture that has emerged during the attacks shows that the Damascus government is also part of Turkey’s plans.”

 

Stating that the attacks on Kurdish neighbourhoods stem from Turkey’s intolerance toward the Kurdish people, Karamus said the assaults pose a direct threat to the gains Kurds have achieved. He noted that the attacks specifically target these gains and that the silence of international powers has emboldened Turkey. “Step by step, Turkey is attacking with the aim of eliminating the existence of the Kurdish people,” he said. 

 

‘KURDISH PARTIES REMAINED WEAK’

 

Pointing out that the stance of Kurdish parties, particularly the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), has remained weak during this process, Karamus said the attacks in Aleppo are not limited to those neighbourhoods alone but constitute a threat to all of Rojava. 

Karamus said: “Turkey’s aim is to eliminate all Kurdish gains across the four parts of Kurdistan existence. Turkey is openly declaring this objective. If Kurds want to protect their existence, status and gains, they must take a common and clear stance across all four parts of Kurdistan within the framework of national unity. A national strategy must be implemented. Unless this is done to defend the Kurdish people, threats, whether from Turkey, the Damascus government or other groups will continue. Press statements alone are not sufficient.”

 

Calling on all Kurds, Karamus concluded: “In this critical period we are going through, we must set aside political disagreements and ideological differences and stand united. We must establish national unity to protect the gains of our people. We must put an end to these attacks and massacres targeting the Kurdish people. Today, we are facing a national question of existence or non-existence.”

 

MA / Omer Akin