Kurds and Kurdistan

Man is stabbed as cars and businesses are trashed when Kurd and Syrian factions battle each other on British streets

A man was stabbed and cars and businesses were smashed up as fights broke out between groups of people of Syrian and Kurdish heritage in Manchester this week.

At least four people were arrested after hundreds descended on the city’s iconic Curry Mile for a second night of protests, led by the local Kurdish community, on Wednesday.

Disorder first broke out on Tuesday following a protest in the Rusholme area of the city, with police putting in place a Section 34 dispersal order.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inKurds and Kurdistan, Syria, UK, WTF?

Syria: Al-Qaeda–Linked Regime Targets Kurds in Ethnic Cleansing

Syria’s Islamist government, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa—also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani—is currently waging attacks against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Since January 6, an estimated 150,000 people, including Kurds, Christians, and Yazidis, have been internally displaced by forces loyal to Julani.

Julani is the head of the terrorist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The SDF is a U.S. ally who fought against the Islamic State (ISIS) for over a decade.

In Antwerp yesterday …

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Kurds and Kurdistan, Syria

The Islamic State-fighting female snipers refusing to put down their guns

In the barren deserts in north-eastern Syria, a female Kurdish soldier and three of her comrades found themselves wounded, surrounded, and almost out of bullets.

Tasked with holding the line, Mizgin Rojda and her unit stood firm as a dozen Turkish-backed militia fighters ambushed them, shooting wildly.

“We had promised each other that we would fight to the end, no matter what,” the 29-year-old tells The Telegraph. “It was a fierce fight, we were injured, but we didn’t give up. We held out until reinforcements came.”

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inKurds and Kurdistan

Six Kurdish terror suspects arrested in London

Six suspected members of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, have been arrested in north London as part of a significant counter-terrorism investigation, Scotland Yard has said.

Eight addresses, including the Kurdish Community Centre in Haringey, north London, were raided by police on Wednesday morning and four men and two women aged between 23 and 62 were detained under section 41(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inKurds and Kurdistan

Terror attack blamed as four killed and 14 wounded at Turkish aerospace firm

Turkey’s interior minister has blamed a “terrorist attack” for an explosion and assault at the headquarters of the national aerospace company, Tusaş, outside Ankara that has killed four people and wounded 14 others.

The large blast happened outside the building at 4pm on Wednesday, and there were reports that gunfire was also heard in the vicinity.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said: “We have four martyrs. We have 14 wounded. I condemn this heinous terrorist attack and wish mercy on our martyrs.”

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inKurds and Kurdistan, Turkey

Ankara summons French envoy over ‘anti-Turkey propaganda’ after attack on Paris Kurds

Turkey on Monday summoned France’s ambassador over “anti-Turkey propaganda” that it alleged French officials did little to stop following the killing of three Kurds in Paris.

Friday’s shooting was followed by days of protests by Kurdish groups and their supporters in the French capital.

Some of the protesters waved flags of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies.

Others held banners with slogans accusing Turkey of being a killer state and connected to the shooting.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", France, Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West, Kurds and Kurdistan

Turkey objects as Sweden, Finland seek NATO membership

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden on Monday decided to join neighboring Finland in seeking NATO membership, ending more than two centuries of military nonalignment in a historic shift prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The move drew strong objections from Turkey, a key NATO member who declared the two nations should not be allowed to join because they have been too lax in taking action against Kurdish militants. Countries can only join NATO if all current members agree.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", Erdogan, Finland, Kurds and Kurdistan, NATO, Sweden, Turkey

‘Now I’ve a purpose’: why more Kurdish women are choosing to fight

All-female militias in Syria have again swelled in numbers in recent years with many women joining the call to arms despite the risks

Zeynab Serekaniye, a Kurdish woman with a gap-toothed smile and a warm demeanor, never imagined she’d join a militia.

The 26-year-old grew up in Ras al-Ayn, a town in north-east Syria. The only girl in a family of five, she liked to fight and wear boys’ clothing. But when her brothers got to attend school and she did not, Serekaniye did not challenge the decision. She knew it was the reality for girls in the region. Ras al-Ayn, Arabic for “head of the spring”, was a green and placid place, so Serekaniye settled down to a life of farming vegetables with her mother.

Share
by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inKurds and Kurdistan