Corbyn calls for NATO member Turkey to leave Syria and respect Kurdish rights

As Israel expanded its illegal occupation in south-west Syria amid the jihadist victory over the Assad regime, independent MP Jeremy Corbyn called for foreign troops from the apartheid state to leave the country – but there is another illegal occupation in Syria, by NATO’s second-biggest army Turkey.

Corbyn on Turkey, Israel, and Syria

Corbyn asked UK foreign secretary David Lammy to assure that Turkish troops would leave northern Syria and respect the rights of Kurdish-majority communities there. Unfortunately, no assurance came. So Turkey’s anti-Kurdish campaign of terror in Syria looks set to continue.

Corbyn said:

Can we be assured that the foreign troops that are in Syria at the present time, particularly the Turkish troops in the north, will leave; and that they will respect the right of the Kurdish people to be able to live safely in their own area and that any incoming government in Damascus will also respect the diversity of the country and all of the minorities, particularly the Kurdish minority?

As the people of Syria come out of the horrors of war, torture and imprisonment, I asked the Foreign Secretary what he was doing to protect the rights of Kurdish people, and whether he would call for an end to Israel's illegal occupation of the Golan Heights. pic.twitter.com/7LNV8fYLK6

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) December 9, 2024

Unfortunately, however, Western governments ignore the bloody hands of their close allies. So Turkey shares in Israel’s shameful impunity. In particular, British authorities have long played along with Turkey’s anti-Kurdish warmongering, failing to challenge its war crimes and ethnic cleansing in northern Syria and elsewhere. And this is despite the key role the Kurdish people played in defeating Daesh (Isis/Isil).

Turkey expands its occupation in northern Syria amid Assad’s downfall

At the end of November, Turkey began to expand its occupied territory in north-west Syria to the south and the east.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have been advancing and gaining territories from the Syrian government in the southern and eastern countryside of Aleppo since November 26 – the most significant conflict following a 2020 ceasefire brokered between Turkey and Russia. pic.twitter.com/u1FoFdxtGP

— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) November 30, 2024

The city of Manbij has been one of the key battlegrounds between Turkish-led mercenaries and local Kurdish-led defence forces. And Manbij now appears to have fallen to the chauvinist invaders, amid “unprecedented Turkish artillery & drone strikes“.

Manbij update from source on the ground:

"SDF have withdrawn [from Manbij]. Turkey and its militias are now trying to reach the Tishreen dam. There are a lot of attacks against Tishreen and the dam, with SDF fighting the SNA outside Tishreen at present. They are using heavy… pic.twitter.com/Ru7uLctapp

— Rojava Information Center (@RojavaIC) December 10, 2024

On 9 December, the Kurdish Red Crescent said:

a humanitarian disaster is escalating in northern Syria, receiving insufficient attention from public opinion or an adequate humanitarian and security response.

It explained:

In just two weeks, more than 120,000 people have been displaced from the Shahba (Til Rifat) to northern Syria.

And it added:

On December 7, these armed factions launched a large-scale attack on the city of Manbij and its surrounding areas, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis that surpasses the capacity of organizations operating in northeast Syria. The attacks targeted infrastructure and health facilities, resulting in the destruction of some and
rendering them out of service, while many humanitarian workers were forced to leave the Manbij area.

This situation has directly impacted humanitarian aid efforts for displaced people in northern and eastern Syria. Humanitarian organizations face immense challenges in these circumstances, compounded by pre-existing dire conditions in the region. These include large camps like Al-Hol Camp and detention centers that still hold thousands of ISIS members, adding further pressure to the already strained resources.

Manbij is a multi-ethnic city whose population grew from 100,000 in 2004 to around half a million people, including surrounding villages. Kurdish-led forces liberated it from Daesh (Isis/Isil) in 2016.

Stop Turkey’s impunity. Stand with Rojava.

The autocratic, war criminal regime in Turkey has been waging its campaign of terror in northern Syria ever since the left-wing, Kurdish-led Rojava revolution gained international attention for successfully resisting Daesh advances in 2014 and 2015. Turkey has subjected the largely-Kurdish communities of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to a humanitarian crisis, resulting from regular attacks, ethnic cleansing, and illegal occupation.

Corbyn is absolutely right. It’s essential that we stand alongside Kurdish and other people in northern Syria who helped to defeat Daesh. And that means opposing Turkey’s ongoing war against them.

Featured image via the Canary