In recent days there has been a lot of focus, both in movement press and by larger news agencies on Turkey’s preparations for a possible ground invasion of Rojava.
Shelling with artillery has continued primarily in the Euphrates region, targetting the surrounding areas of the cities of Kobane and Manbic as well as the region of Tal Rifaat, home to thousands of refugees following Turkey’s invasion of Afrin in 2018. In the eastern part of Rojava, the surrounding area of the town of Tal Tamer has been hit with heavy artillery including the village of Zirgan, which the Turkish state has terrorised repeatedly since its invasion of Serekaniye in 2019.
On 29th November Mazloum Kobane, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, met with Russian Lt. Gen. Alexander Chaiko to discuss the ongoing attacks and responses to a possible ground invasion by Turkey. The outcome of the talks has not been publicised, but speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mazloum Kobane said that there needed to be action by both the US and Russia to maintain the ceasefire agreed in 2019.
“We are still nervous. We need stronger, more solid statements to stop Turkey. Turkey has announced its intent and is now feeling things out. The beginning of an invasion will depend on how it analyses the positions of other countries.”
Each day the SDF is releasing a balance sheet of attacks by the Turkish state, which you can view on the ‘ANF English’ website, you can also follow current events in the region using ‘Syria Live Map’ (see below for links)
Upcoming Actions:
Today is the first day of a four day call-out for actions by the Defend Kurdistan initiative. Earlier today we released an article detailing two possible companies to look into in your area.
https://kurdistansolidarity.net/2022/11/30/defend-kurdistan-days-of-action-start-today/
We also have upcoming demonstrations in Bristol on the 1st December and Edinburgh on 3rd December.
1st December:
Meet outside Boeing Defence, Building 630, The Crescent, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS16 1EJ at 4pm. This will be a noise demonstration so bring your pots and pans!
If you can’t make it to Bristol, we encourage you to join the planned Twitter storm/phone blockade of Boeing between 11am and 1pm. Call Boeing’s Bristol offices on 0117 317 0400 to tell them what you think about their complicity in genocide in Kurdistan. You can also tweet @BoeingDefense on twitter, or leave them a good old fashioned google review. We will be hosting a zoom call from 11am tomorrow to help people take action together as we know calling arms dealers on your own can be nerve wracking. Join the call using the link or meeting ID below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84253777269
Meeting ID: 842 5377 7269
Saturday 3rd December:
If you are in Scotland, there will be a demonstration for Kurdistan in Edinburgh on Saturday 3rd December beginning on Prince’s Street outside the Apple store.
See the flyers below for more details on both! Hope to see you there.