ANKARA - Members of the European Parliament called on the EU and the CoE to take urgent action against the new generation of ISIS threats in Syria, saying "Silence in the face of these crimes and dangers is not an option."

 

Andreas Schieder, Per Clausen and Leoluca Orlando, Co-Chairs of the Kurdish Working Group in the European Parliament, Andreas Schieder, Per Clausen and Leoluca Orlando sent an urgent appeal to the Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, regarding the Turkish-backed Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) forces fuelling war and conflict in Syria and massacres against the people of the region. 

 

In the call, it was emphasised that HTS, which is supported by Turkey, is an organisation of ISIS and poses a threat to the peoples of the region and the world.  The European Union also mobilised and sent emergency aid to the region. 

 

Autonomous administration fought for democracy for 12 years

 

The full text of the call is as follows: “You will be well aware of the current tumultuous and extremely worrying events in Syria, and of the danger that civilians and all minorities are facing. For twelve years, especially the Kurds and their allies in the Autonomous Administration have struggled to maintain an island of democracy and peaceful co-existence in the region, successfully fighting back against ISIS, with the loss of 12,000 lives. Now, the operation against Assad, led by Al-Qaeda offshoot, Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has been joined by a second operation, led by Turkish-backed Islamist militias - the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA) - which is dedicated to destroying the Autonomous Administration.

 

A common threat that will affect the whole world

 

The dangers facing the region and the whole world as a result of the growing power of groups that share many similarities, including personnel, with ISIS, require a serious and concerted response, and we hope that we can continue to engage with you over this. Today we would like to highlight three areas of concern, starting with the most immediate, and to call for urgent EU action. 

 

Turkey-backed mercenary groups create humanitarian crisis

 

When Turkish-backed mercenaries, from the same groups that are now threatening to destroy the Autonomous Administration, occupied Afrîn in 2018 - and established a rule whose brutality has been well documented (Including by the UN) - most of the Kurds from Afrîn escaped to take refuge in Tel Rifat and al-Shahba. Now these displaced people, who hoped to return to Afrîn, have been forcibly displaced by the SNA for a second time. After a terrifying few days, some 200,000 people have finally been allowed to escape to safer areas, mainly Raqqa, but now they are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Kaja Kallas HR/VP of the European Commission Rue de la Loi 200 / Wetstraat 200 1040 Brussels, Belgium 

 

 Threat to Kurds and minorities

 

Threats facing about 400,000 Kurds and other minorities in Aleppo. The autonomous Kurdish districts of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in northern Aleppo are now besieged, with HTS on one side and Turkey’s SNA on the other. When the militias entered Aleppo, many Christians and other non-Muslim minorities took refuge in these areas, which now house around 400,000 people. With the SNA’s stated intent to eliminate the Kurdish areas, and their history of brutality in the occupied regions, there are serious fears of large-scale massacres. 

 

Rojava has never been a threat to Turkey

 

Future threats to the Autonomous Administration area of North and East Syria and consequently to regional and international stability. Turkey has made no secret of their aim to use the SNA to eliminate the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, although the Administration has never posed a threat to Turkey. In recent years, Turkey has destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure, and they are now focussing attacks on Manbij, with the aim of moving east from there. 

 

We call on the European Union

 

They want to replace a region of peace and multi-ethnic friendship with a brutalised and intolerant version of Islamism. In this they would make use of the thousands of ISIS prisoners currently held in the region – some 12,000 male fighters and some 50,000 family members who have been incubating a new generation of ISIS militants. This poses a threat to the whole world. 

 

We call on the European Union to

 

Provide urgent humanitarian aid to the IDPs from Tel Rifat and al-Shahba

 

Take a firm stand towards Turkey and apply maximum pressure to persuade 

 

them to reign in the militias and end their attacks on the Autonomous Administration, including Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah. 

 

Silence in the face of these crimes and dangers is simply not an option.