ISTANBUL – Evaluating the attacks targeting the Eşrefiyê (Ashrafieh) and Şêxmeqsûd (Sheikh Maqsoud) neighborhoods, human rights activist Ahmet Faruk Ünsal said that steps taken by Hayat Tahrir el-Sham (HTS) could escalate conflicts in Syria and negatively affect the peace process in Turkey as well.

 

Reactions continue to grow against the attacks carried out by Turkey-backed paramilitary groups affiliated with the Syrian Transitional Government against the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Eşrefiyê and Şêxmeqsûd, as well as the Syriac-populated Benî Zêd neighborhood in Aleppo. The paramilitary groups have killed many people, including women and children. Human rights activist Ahmet Faruk Ünsal shared his assessment of the attacks with our agency.

 

Ünsal pointed out that the attacks on Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods came after two highly critical developments. He said that the first was the failure of talks held in Damascus on Sunday between HTS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the second was a call made by Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli during his parliamentary group meeting, urging Arabs in SDF-controlled areas to oppose SDF rule.

 

Stating that the aim is to eliminate Kurds with the support of the Turkish government, Ünsal said: “Because first in Manbij and later in Tal Abyad, Kurds were completely forced to leave their areas and move east of the Euphrates, while some were settled in Aleppo’s Kurdish neighborhoods.”

 

‘LIVING AREAS WILL TURN INTO MASSACRES’

 

Ünsal said that the plan is to shift the concentration toward the east of the Euphrates and, by provoking the Arab population in Kurdish-majority areas, to completely dismantle SDF governance. He stressed that it is clear this would turn into a major massacre, adding that such a development would also have negative consequences for Kurds in Turkey and for the resolution process of the Kurdish issue that has begun in Turkey.

 

“Anyone who hopes to derive political gains from a military operation against Aleppo must know that this would mean the end of the solution process in Turkey, causing serious damage, and igniting an endless conflict in Syria,” Ünsal said, warning that if the attacks continue, massacres against Kurds would not be limited to two neighborhoods but could spread across all of Syria.

 

SYRIAN ARMY AND DAISH

 

Calling the March 10 Agreement “a declaration of intent,” Ünsal said that integration has not been properly understood. He emphasized that there is a serious DAISH presence within Syria’s central army, noting that under such conditions, integrating the SDF into this army is unrealistic.

 

Ünsal added: “There are significant women’s units within the SDF. Therefore, the most accurate and realistic option is to ensure the integration of Kurdish or SDF forces into the Ministry of Defense while allowing them to preserve their autonomy and differences. However, it appears that the Syrian government is not willing to accept this.”

 

CALL TO THE SYRIAN TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT

 

Addressing the Syrian Transitional Government, Ünsal warned that any steps taken would plunge all of Syria into serious turmoil and concluded: “This will not remain limited to Syria; it will also have very negative repercussions in Turkey. The peace process in Turkey will be severely affected. Therefore, they must urgently reflect on how to realistically implement the March 10 Agreement. A realistic implementation means that Kurdish forces remain in their own regions while maintaining ties with the central government and continuing their existence.”