The Syrian Civil War has drifted in and out
of the news ever since its inception, but an important new front is beginning to
take shape. This is the Kurdish dimension to the war. As always however, before
delving into this topic some context is vital.
The Syrian Civil War itself most likely
requires fairly little contextualization, but a brief review of the major
forces involved would be sensible. Bashar al-Assad received his position after
his father’s passing, and refuses to surrender the family legacy.
Internationally he is supported by Iran and Hezbollah (the armed Shia political
party in Lebanon). Both of these Middle-East partners will support Assad to the
end since their interests rely so heavily on him. Iran, because Syria is their
sole ally in the Middle-East, and Hezbollah because their weapons and support
all flow through Syria. They are joined by Russia which under Putin’s reign
wants as much sway in the international arena as possible. Syria under Assad is
a holdover puppet state from the Soviet era and represents an ideal foothold of
control with which Putin can exert his clout.
On the other side the West timidly supports
the Rebels, largely out of disdain for Mr. Assad. Their support has been
primarily in the form of non-lethal assistance, which, as of today, both the UK
and US have partially cut off because of reports that this equipment was
falling into the hands of Islamists. This brings us to the radical Islamist contingent
in this conflict. This is largely made up of foreign jihadis fighting on behalf
of The Nusra Front and the Islamic State in Syria, two al-Qaeda linked groups.
These are supported by Jihadis worldwide and without question a large amount of
Saudi Arabian encouragement. In fact, the Gulf Countries in general support the
rebels as all see Syria and Iran as a threat. In addition, all of the Gulf
countries are Sunni led in stark opposition to Shia Iran and Syria. Qatar is
the home base for the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the umbrella for the major
non-Islamist rebels nominally leading the fight against Assad. The SNC has official
backing from the Gulf countries, as well as Turkey and the West.
This brings us to the oft overlooked group
that has not been mentioned above, the Kurds. Kurds are the largest stateless
group on Earth and are found in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. I have a level of
personal experience in this subject having spent some (albeit short) time in
the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Turkey, as well as encounters with Kurds while
in Iran. Kurds in Iraq have a regional government with a large amount of
autonomy. Upon crossing the border with Turkey I met a Kurdish border guard,
most important institutions in Iraqi Kurdistan are maintained by Kurdish
authorities, and the pervasive Peshmerga presence (Kurdish militia literally
translated to “those who face death”) assures a completely safe and peaceful oasis
in conflict torn Iraq. This local autonomy came about after Saddam Hussein
horrified the world with his genocidal nerve gas campaign against his Kurdish
population, and forced a US led no-fly zone. The area protected by that no-fly
zone in Northern Iraq from 1991 till the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 allowed
for the establishment of what is today Iraqi Kurdistan. In Turkey, moves have been
made at negotiating a peace deal with the PKK, the Kurdish group there
responsible for many terrorist attacks in the past. The PKK wants greater
autonomy as well, and undoubtedly aspires to what was attained in Northern
Iraq.
This long prelude finally leads to the
current situation in Syria. A Kurdish militia closely aligned with the aforementioned
PKK in Turkey has taken over large areas of Syria from Islamists. Mainstream
media often mentions that there are divisions among rebel fighters in Syria, largely
between moderates and Islamists, but the Kurdish addition to this battle is
crucial. At a time when Islamists increasingly seem to be making gains among
the rebels at the expense of the Free Syrian Army, (supported by the SNC and
Western Countries) the Kurdish PYD militant group has been incredibly
successful combating the Islamists. Many villages have recently transferred from
al-Qaeda linked hands into Kurdish hands in Hasakah province, which has further
cemented gains for the PYD in Syria’s Kurdish dominated northeast. Even more
strikingly, the PYD has announced that they are establishing provisional
self-rule in the Kurdish territories they have annexed. This again is clearly a
step towards an Iraqi-Kurdistan style government within whatever future Syria
develops.
The SNC immediately rejected this bid for self-rule and said it goes against their efforts to build a unified independent Syria. Some rhetoric among moderate rebels has even gone so far as to label this Kurdish group the enemy now. There has also been much questioning about collusion between Assad and the Kurds. The PYD has repeatedly denied this, but some question whether Assad’s forces retreated too easily when the PYD moved into government controlled areas, and fighting between the government and the PYD had been scarce. Many Kurds were initially tepid in their opposition to the Syrian government and this has caused some of the current distrust. It is crucial to mention that many Kurds in Syria do not support the PYD, and there are Kurds within the SNC as well, though they tend to also favour at least some greater autonomy for their people.
In Iraq, when there was an uprising among
Sunnis and the war in Kuwait, Kurds took advantage and went to war with Saddam
Hussein. Similarly, Kurdish militias are now working to carve out their territory
within conflict torn Syria. In Turkey, a long running campaign against the
government comprising of many terrorist attacks finally appears to be leading
to peace and more Kurdish sovereignty. As a distinct ethnicity Kurds are
increasingly exerting control over their territories, and dreams of a united
Kurdistan still resonate. Kurds are generally secular, pro-Western and
increasingly influential. Adding to their geopolitical importance, Kurds in
Iraq and Syria happen to be in areas with very significant oil reserves. In
Iraqi-Kurdistan which serves as the bastion of safety in Iraq, this is already
being taken advantage of.
Kurdish gains in Syria are significant and
should not be ignored. The world’s largest stateless ethnic group is slowly
building up a state and the ramifications across the Middle-East are huge. The
gains Kurds have made in Syria and their declaration of autonomy ought not to
go unnoticed. Though too often overlooked in history, Kurds are on the way to
being one of the most important groups in the region.
