View allAll Photos Tagged Daesh
Los voluntarios de CitizenGO y MasLibres han tapado las inscripciones hechas por el Daesh en el muro de una escuela primaria de Tel Escof, sustituyéndolas con bellos dibujos
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
Rund 150 Menschen folgen in Berlin einem Aufruf unter dem Motto "Keine Deutsche Beteiligung am Krieg in Syrien", um gegen den Einsatz deutscher Soldaten in Syrien und die NATO, USA, und alles mögliche zu demonstrieren. Nachdem die angekündigten rechtsaußen Redner Kathrin Oertel (Ex-Pegida) und Jürgen Elsässer (Compact) nicht kommen konnten oder wollten, trat u.a. Christoph Hörstel auf. Dieser tourt seit Jahren als Werber für das syrische Regime von Baschar al-Assad durch das Land und trat auch auf der antisemitischen, iranischen Propaganga-Show des Al Quds Marsches in Berlin auf.
Der Protestzug zieht vom Vorplatz des Hauptbahnhofes zum Brandenburger Tor. Während des Zuges sprechen diverse Teilnehmer u.a. aus Erfurt und Halle, dabei wird die Bundesrepublik wahlweise mit dem nationalsozialisten Deutschland des "3. Reiches" oder der DDR verglichen.
Die Veranstaltung ist eng mit EnDgAmE verknüpft. Auch das Bandmitlied der rechten HipHop-Gruppe "Die Bandbreite" Marcel Wojnarowicz spricht und hält schließlich am Brandenburger Tor einen Ein-Mann-Auftritt seiner Band ab, wobei es einen wüsten Ritt durch die gängigen Verschwörungstheorien in Bezug auf 9/11, den arabischen Frühling, Daesh, Syrien und diverse andere vorgebliche Verbrechen der USA gibt. Zudem hagelt es Beschimpfungen der Presse und der "Antifa".
Carved relief from the ancient Assyrian royal palace of Nineveh (Mosul in modern Iraq) detail of one of the many relief panels that once lined the walls now in the British Museum.
Many of these scenes depict the hunting of animals and are as cruel as they are beautifully rendered; this often makes me question my enjoyment of these stunning artworks when beautiful animals like lions and horses are seen to be suffering in them.
The site of Nineveh has been attacked by Daesh barbarians over the last two years of jihadi occupation, demolishing most of the few remaining structures and destroying 3000 years of history. It is located in the centre of Mosul which is currently a battleground as Iraqi forces attempt to reclaim their city. Whether any of the last vestiges of ancient Nineveh survive the liberation of the city remains to be seen, fortunately most of its more important sculpture is safe in museums like this.
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
3 August 2014 will remain the day the life of the yazedis has changed. Up to 200,000 yazedis people have been displaced from their homes in Sinjar City and the surrounding towns and villages when ISIS arrived by surprise .
The islamist group asked the residents to convert or die...Hundreds of Yazidis were executed as they refused. Most of the people left the village on time, fleeing on foot in the mountains, without nothing and most of the time without water or food , under a 50 degrees temperature. They walked for 7 days, including the babies and the elders. Many were killed, wounded or captured on the way. Now thousands are in Duhok in Kurdistan, and towns like Zoar when they have found a shelter for the winter. Some still have contacts thanks to the mobile phones with the relatives captured or trapped in Sinjar, but many do not have any news of their relatives and fear the worst...Until now, the town od Sinjar is seized by ISIS, where hundreds of Yazidis remain stranded months after fleeing their homes.But Kurdish peshmergas have regained lot of the ground lost to ISIS with the help of the U.S. air strikes. Sinjar is a strategic place as it would put the peshmergas on three sides of Mosul, the largest city under ISIS rule in northern Iraq.
© Eric Lafforgue
Family 6 – Rameen and Safi, Afghanistan
Very chatty man called Rameen from Afghanistan, traveling with his younger brother Safi (not their real names). They arrived at 10pm the night before. ‘I want to enjoy my life’ he told us. It took them 13/14 days to travel from Afghanistan. His said he had two children (two girls, 1 and 4 years old) back in Afghanistan. ‘I want my family to come here. As you know, in Afghanistan there is the Taliban, there is Isis. It is a bad life’ (note: CAFOD uses the term ‘armed groups’ rather than Daesh or ISIS).
Various people told us that they or their children had some kind of complaint or illness and wanted medical attention. For example, this Afghan man told us that he had a bad leg and saw a doctor in Athens but he was just given a bandage and ibuprofen. There was no 24 hour medical care available at the petrol station, unlike at the main border camp.
More than 930,000 refugees arrived in Greece in the past 12 months. Last year several thousand people were crossing the border at Idomeni every day but now there are tight restrictions. Caritas is providing food and WASH.
Natalia Tsoukala/Caritas Jan/2015
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Rebecca, 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron loadmaster, guides a pay-loader to load cargo on board a C-17 Globemaster III in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in Kuwait, Aug. 14, 2015. OIR is the military intervention against Daesh. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sandra Welch)
Gazi, Istanbul. Le 22 février 2015, la police a exécuté deux militantes du MLKP, parti de la gauche révolutionnaire turque, soupçonnée d'avoir posé des bombes fisant un journal pro-daesh et un camion de police. Le 23, les funérailles des militantes ont lieu dans le quartier de Gazi, bastion des révolutionnaires turcs et kurdes. A cette occasion, la brache armée de l'organisation fait une apparition publique pour saluer ses martyrs.
Rund 150 Menschen protestieren in Berlin mit einem Demonstrationszug vom Alexanderplatz zum Brandenburger Tor gegen das seit 1993 bestehende Verbot der Kurdischen Arbeiterpartei (PKK) in Deutschland.
In Reden wird darauf hingewiesen, dass insbesondere die Schwesterorganisationen der PKK, die YPG und YPJ in der nordsyrischen Provinz Rojava einen unschätzbaren Dienst im Kamp gegen Daesh leistet. Dies sogar im Zusammenspiel mit den USA.
Zudem sei Deutschland neben der Türkei das einzige Land, in dem die PKK verboten sei.
MEPs condemned the violence carried out by the so-called Islamic State, also known as Daesh, and called for more support to help its victims. Because of the continuing conflict 12.2 million Syrians were in need of humanitarian assistance by January 2015. During the debate on the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq on 11 February, MEPs also called for action on EU citizens joining jihadi groups and for more cooperation with other countries.
Read more @ www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20150211...
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The same JDM-only car with "unfortunate" name due to association with world's fearsome terror organisation. The owner told the truth when he opened the window and talk to me: this car is bought in Jakarta, locally-owned, used by local tax officer, but registered in Malang for unknown reason.
Sebuah MPV JDM Toyota yang namanya "tidak lagi diterima" karena namanya sama dengan singkatan organisasi teror paling ditakuti di dunia: NIIS/Daesh. Pemilik mobil akhirnya mengakui ke saya: mobil ini dibeli di Jakarta (diduga 2007), milik asli krama Bali, digunakan sebagai mobil kantor Samsat setempat, anehnya mobil ini berplat Malang.
A offshoot of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War was a bloody, controversial conflict that overthrew Baathist Saddam Hussein from rule in Iraq and catalyzed a decade of bloody insurgency and sectarian violence, the reverberations of which continue to this day.
While the Gulf War was a quick victory for the United States and a smaller international coalition, driving Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, Hussein was kept in power. Saddam immediately began consolidating his weakened reign, brutally crushing uprisings of Shias (his Baathist leadership was dominated by Sunnis), Marsh Arabs, and Kurds. However weakened by sanctions, he was forced to disarm his nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons projects, and leave large regions in the North and South of the country autonomous after the United States imposed no-fly zones. Despite the disarmament, the United States under Pres George W. Bush insisted that Hussein retained his nuclear weapons and was actively re-arming, information that turned out to be both highly inaccurate and suspect, much of it from opposition sources actively seeking Saddam's overthrow. Many-myself included-believed the real reason was that Bush wanted to remove the main opponent of his father, Pres George HW Bush, and rekindle interest in the "War on Terror" after what seemed like a quick victory in Afghanistan. Despite worldwide opposition, including from the UN Security Council, NATO, and within the United States, Bush attacked Iraq on March 20, 2003.
Operation Iraq Freedom was launched with 250000 American, 45000 British, and a scattering of the widely mocked "Coalition of the Willing" attacking from Kuwait, while special forces worked with the autonomous Kurdish Pershmerga in Northern Iraq. The Southern oil fields were immediately seized, and while the 3rd US Infantry flanked through the Western desert the 1st Marine Expeditionary force pushed up through the Euphrates River Valley. After sharp fighting, the units were joined by the 101st Airborne and Baghdad was taken. The invasion ended when Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit was taken in the middle of what is known as the Sunni Triangle. The invasion had cost 139 US and 33 British military personnel, as well as 9000 Iraq military and 4000 civilians. On May 1, 2003, President Bush visited the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared "Mission Accomplished".
Whereas Operation Iraq Freedom ended in an easy American victory, the occupation was marred by waste, incompetence and cronyism. Civil disorder soon broke out throughout the country, helped by the bulk of the Iraq Army which had disbanded among the populace, as well as by radical Sunni and Shiite religious groups and the 80000-100000 Baathists purged from the government by the coalition forces. Things quickly spiraled out of control, with insurgencies centered on the Sunni Triangle, most notably Al Qaeda, helped by Syria and Sunnis, and Sadr City, helped by Iran and Shiites. These were mostly characterized by suicide and improvised explosive device (IED) bombings, frequently at civilian sites. Two battles of Fallujah retook the city from insurgents but destroyed the city as well. Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003 and eventually handed over to the new Shiite dominated transition government and executed. Despite this, the insurgency continued. The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Gahib outraged the World, and cost the United States much legitimacy in Iraq.
In 2007, Gen David Petraus called for a troop surge of 20000 additional troops to quash the insurgencies, helped by the Anbar Awakening, the alliance of Sunni tribes to oppose Al Qaeda. While this suppressed much of the attacks, they continued at a lower level. As the Iraqi government formed under Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who actively began advocating the withdraw of Coalition forces. The U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement finally led to an agreement where US forces would gradually pull out of Iraq. This was done by 2011 under Pres Barack Obama, despite a still smoldering insurgency. Within months, al-Maliki's sectarian agenda and corruption would reignite the violence, leading to the Sunni terrorist group Daesh sweeping across the border from the Syrian Civil War and taking a third of Iraq in what some have called the Iraqi Civil War or the Second Iraq War in 2014. Centering around the captured Mosul, Daesh committed numerous atrocities, including genocide against the Yazidi population before faltering against Kurdistan following a second American intervention. Daesh reached as far as Fallujah before being driven back into Syria following heavy fighting, finally ending in 2017.
The Iraq War was again costly on all sides. American losses totaled 4500 dead and 32000 wounded (I met many during my time working at the VA hospital), while the combined coalition losses totaled 25000 dead and 117000 wounded. Around 30000-40000 insurgents were killed, as well as anywhere from 150000-600000 civilian deaths. Many in the United States drew parallels to the Vietnam Conflict and many (myself included) cursed the Bush Administration for incompetence and launching an avoidable conflict.
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), commonly known as the Humvee, was an armored truck produced by AM General. Developed in 1981 as a light vehicle with good on and off-road performance, the capacity for a large payload, and survivability against indirect fire, the AM HMMWV was first placed in combat in the 1989 US Invasion of Panama. It gained fame in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, where it served admirably and led to the popularity of a civilian version, the Hummer. However as conflicts changed into urban insurgencies, the Humvee found itself in roles out of specifications: Ranger units riding Humvees suffered heavy losses in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu and as the insurgencies spiked in Afghanistan and Iraq IEDs inflicted heavy casualties on people riding the vehicles. In response to intense criticism, many humvees were modified with heavy armor kits. By 2007 the heavy losses led to the Pentagon to announce the replacement of Humvees with a variety of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. Some 280000 Humvees were produced and are still being produced.
National Infantry Museum, Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia
Rund 150 Menschen folgen in Berlin einem Aufruf unter dem Motto "Keine Deutsche Beteiligung am Krieg in Syrien", um gegen den Einsatz deutscher Soldaten in Syrien und die NATO, USA, und alles mögliche zu demonstrieren. Nachdem die angekündigten rechtsaußen Redner Kathrin Oertel (Ex-Pegida) und Jürgen Elsässer (Compact) nicht kommen konnten oder wollten, trat u.a. Christoph Hörstel auf. Dieser tourt seit Jahren als Werber für das syrische Regime von Baschar al-Assad durch das Land und trat auch auf der antisemitischen, iranischen Propaganga-Show des Al Quds Marsches in Berlin auf.
Der Protestzug zieht vom Vorplatz des Hauptbahnhofes zum Brandenburger Tor. Während des Zuges sprechen diverse Teilnehmer u.a. aus Erfurt und Halle, dabei wird die Bundesrepublik wahlweise mit dem nationalsozialisten Deutschland des "3. Reiches" oder der DDR verglichen.
Die Veranstaltung ist eng mit EnDgAmE verknüpft. Auch das Bandmitlied der rechten HipHop-Gruppe "Die Bandbreite" Marcel Wojnarowicz spricht und hält schließlich am Brandenburger Tor einen Ein-Mann-Auftritt seiner Band ab, wobei es einen wüsten Ritt durch die gängigen Verschwörungstheorien in Bezug auf 9/11, den arabischen Frühling, Daesh, Syrien und diverse andere vorgebliche Verbrechen der USA gibt. Zudem hagelt es Beschimpfungen der Presse und der "Antifa".
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
On the eve of the International Human Rights Day, the Union of Iranian Associations in Europe sponsored a meeting on Tuesday, December 8, in the presence of Maryam Rajavi, and featuring Senator Joseph Lieberman and Professor Alejo Vidal Quadras, Vice President of the European Parliament, 1999-2014.
In the meeting entitled, “United Against Fundamentalism, Role of Iranian Resistance”, Maryam Rajavi drew attention to and warned against the efforts of the Iranian regime and its allies to save the Assad regime in Syria.
She said Daesh has found the opportunity to grow and expand with the support of Bashar Assad, and it will not be destroyed with Assad in power.
She added: This calls for Western governments to adopt a policy that supports the desires of the innocent people of Syria for a speedy overthrow of Bashar Assad, gives substantial backing to the Free Army of Syria in its struggle against the regime, and insists on the eviction of foreign troops, specifically the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from Syria and Iraq.
Rund 150 Menschen protestieren in Berlin mit einem Demonstrationszug vom Alexanderplatz zum Brandenburger Tor gegen das seit 1993 bestehende Verbot der Kurdischen Arbeiterpartei (PKK) in Deutschland.
In Reden wird darauf hingewiesen, dass insbesondere die Schwesterorganisationen der PKK, die YPG und YPJ in der nordsyrischen Provinz Rojava einen unschätzbaren Dienst im Kamp gegen Daesh leistet. Dies sogar im Zusammenspiel mit den USA.
Zudem sei Deutschland neben der Türkei das einzige Land, in dem die PKK verboten sei.
Rund 150 Menschen protestieren in Berlin mit einem Demonstrationszug vom Alexanderplatz zum Brandenburger Tor gegen das seit 1993 bestehende Verbot der Kurdischen Arbeiterpartei (PKK) in Deutschland.
In Reden wird darauf hingewiesen, dass insbesondere die Schwesterorganisationen der PKK, die YPG und YPJ in der nordsyrischen Provinz Rojava einen unschätzbaren Dienst im Kamp gegen Daesh leistet. Dies sogar im Zusammenspiel mit den USA.
Zudem sei Deutschland neben der Türkei das einzige Land, in dem die PKK verboten sei.
U.S. Army Pfc. Danielle Rubbo, a cannon crewmember assigned to C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, watches smoke pour from the breach after firing an artillery round from an M109A6 Paladin self-propelled howitzer near Hamam al-Alil, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2017. The strikes were conducted to support the Iraqi security forces' operation to liberate West Mosul from ISIS. A global Coalition of more than 60 regional and international nations has joined together to enable partner forces to defeat ISIS and restore stability and security. Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve is the global Coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)
Podczas wizyty w Waszyngtonie minister Witold Waszczykowski wziął udział w spotkaniu ministrów spraw zagranicznych Państw Globalnej Koalicji do Walki z Daesh, a także w spotkaniu tzw. Małej Grupy krajów najbardziej zaangażowanych w działania Koalicji.
fot.: Matthew Stefanski
Mehrere Dutzend Menschen haben sich an einer Kundgebung am Fuße des Berliner Brandenburger Tores beteiligt, um die Belagerung und die Angriffe der türkischen Polizei auf die Stadt Silvan zu verurteilen. Zudem wird Freiheit für den PKK-Führer Abdullah Öcalan gefordert.
Die Protestierenden sehen die Auseinandersetzungen in Silvan in einer Reihe mit Angriffen des türkischen Staates auf Kurden und kurdische Organisationen seit Staatspräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogans AKP ihre absolute Parlamentsmehrheit verloren hatte. Im Gegenzug hat auch die kurdische Arbeiterpartei PKK ihre Waffenruhe aufgekündigt und turkische Einrichtungen angegriffen.
Auf der Kundgebung wird auch dem Schicksal der Jesiden im irakischen Shingal gedacht. Die Jesiden sehen sich massiver Gewalt ausgesetzt, seit der sogenannte Islamische Staat ihr Gebiet im Irak überrannt hat. Zur Zeit versuchen kurdische Milizen den IS mit einer Großoffensive aus dem Shingal zurückzudrängen.
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Swanker, assigned to the Ohio National Guard's 1194th Engineer Company, 682d Engineer Battalion, carries the American Flag during the 25K Danish Contingency, or DANCON, ruck march at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, May 3, 2016. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Megan Doran)
Über 4.000 Menschen sind am 04.02.2018 in Berlin-Kreuzberg auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen die Militäroffensive der türkischen Armee im kurdischen Kanton Efrîn in Nordsyrien zu demonstrieren. Lautstark forderten die Demonstranten das Ende der Militäraktionen und den Abzug sämtlicher türkische Einheiten und deren Verbündete aus der Region. Das türkische Militär hatte vor rund zwei Wochen die „Operation Olivenzweig" gestartet und begann zunächst aus der Luft hunderte Ziele in Efrîn zu bombardieren. Später drang die türkische Armee unterstützt von verbündeten Milizen der radikalislamistischen „Freien Syrischen Armee (FSA)“ in das Kanton vor. Bei den Kämpfen wurden laut Angaben der Syrischen Beobachtungsstelle für Menschenrechte (SOHR) bislang mindestens 70 Zivilisten getötet, zehntausende Menschen sind seither auf der Flucht.
Zu der Demonstration hatten unzählige kurdische Vereine aufgerufen. Unterstützt wurde sie von zahlreichen linke Gruppen und Initiativen. Viele Demonstranten solidarisierten sich mit in Efrîn kämpfenden Verteidigungseinheiten der YPG und YPJ. In Redebeiträgen kritisierten die Redner die deutschen Rüstungsexporte und forderten die Bundesregierung auf, alle Rüstungsexporte in die Türkei zu stoppen. Zudem forderten die Demonstranten die internationale Weltgemeinschaft auf, Sanktionen gegen die Türkei zu verhängen. Die Protestaktion verlief friedlich und ohne besondere Zwischenfälle. Bereits in den vergangenen Tagen hatten Kurden in mehreren deutschen Städten gegen die türkische Offensive demonstriert.
In Berlin-Kreuzberg sind am 04. Februar 2018 über 4.000 Menschen auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen die Militäroffensive der türkischen Armee im kurdischen Kanton Efrîn zu protestieren. Lautstark forderten die Demonstranten das Ende der „Operation Olivenzweig“ sowie den Abzug sämtlicher türkische Einheiten und deren Verbündete aus der kurdischen Region in Nordsyrien. Vor rund zwei Wochen startet das türkische Militär mit dem Angriff, in dem Luftwaffe begonnen hatte, über hunderte Ziele im Kanton zu bombardieren. Dabei wurden nicht nur Beobachtungsstellungen der kurdischen Volksverteidigungseinheiten (YPG) getroffen, sondern auch Wohngebäuden in Efrîn-Stadt. Ebenfalls getroffen wurde das Flüchtlingscamp in Rûbar, in dem mehr als 20.000 Geflüchtete aus anderen Teilen Syriens leben. Bereits am ersten Tag kamen mindestens sechs Zivilisten und drei Kämpfer der YPG ums Leben.
Einen Tag später drangen türkische Truppen mit Panzer nach Efrîn. Unterstützt wurde sie von tausenden Angehörigen der Milizen der radikalislamistischen „Freien Syrischen Armee (FSA)“, die mit der Türkei verbündet sind. Bislang ist es der türkischen Armee und deren Verbündete nicht gelungen, besonders tief in das Kanton vorzudringen. Laut Angaben der Syrischen Beobachtungsstelle für Menschenrechte (SOHR) gab es bislang auf türkischer Seite mindestens 110 Tote und mehrere zerstörte Panzer. Auf Seiten der Kurden wurden bislang mindestens 70 Zivilisten und 30 Kämpfer getötet. Zudem sind mehrere zehntausende Menschen seither auf der Flucht.
Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hatte bereits vor der Militäroffensive angekündigt, er wolle Truppen nach Efrîn schicken, um YPG-Kämpfer zu vertreiben. Vor Parteifreunden sagte er "Wir werden sämtliche Terrornester in Syrien Stück für Stück ausrotten, beginnend mit Efrîn". Schon in den vergangenen Tagen hatte die türkische Armee viele Panzer und anderes Kriegsgerät an die syrische Grenze gebracht. Die Operation mit dem Namen „Olivenzweig" (Operasyonun „Zeytin Dalı“) schien daher nur eine Frage der Zeit. Bereits in der Vergangenheit, hatte Erdoğan immer wieder davon gesprochen, „die dreckigen Terroristen in Rojava zu verscheuchen. Beginnend von Westen bis hin zu irakischen Grenze.". Mit Terroristen sind in diesem Fall die kurdischen Volksverteidigungseinheiten „Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG“) und die Frauenverteidigungseinheiten „Yekîneyên Parastina Jin (YPJ)“ gemeint. Die Türkei sieht in ihnen die syrische Variante der als Terrororganisation verbotenen PKK und als Bedrohung für die türkische Grenze.
Mit der Militäroffensive will die Türkei offenbar verhindern, dass die Kurden im Nordwesten Syriens eine Autonomieregion errichten. Die Militäroffensive richtet sich allerdings nicht nur gegen die Kurden, sondern auch gegen die USA. Die US-Regierung unterstützt die YPG in Syrien und schätzt sie als Partner im Kampf gegen die Terrormiliz "Islamischer Staat" - auch dauerhaft. Die USA haben angekündigt, im Nordwesten Syriens eine Grenzschutztruppe unter Führung der YPG etablieren zu wollen.
Gegen die Militäroffensive der türkischen Armee hatten zahlreiche kurdische Gruppen wie die NAV-DEM, der Verband der studierenden Frauen aus Kurdistan (JXK Berlin), die Ciwanen Azad sowie Jinen Ciwanen Azad zu der Internationalistischen Demonstration aufgerufen. Unterstützt wurde sie von vielen linke Gruppen und Initiativen, darunter die Interventionistische Linke Berlin, die TOP Berlin sowie die Antifaschistische Koordination 36. Unter dem Motto „Von Kreuzberg nach Afrin - Tod dem Faschismus! Solidarität mit Rojava!“ versammelten sich die Demonstranten am Sonntagnachmittag auf dem Oranienplatz zur Auftaktkundgebung. Im Gegensatz zu den Demonstrationen zuvor, erlaubte die Polizei das Mitführen von Fahnen und Symbole der YPG und der YPJ. Dagegen verboten blieben Portraits des in der Türkei inhaftierten Vorsitzenden der Arbeiterpartei Kurdistans (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan.
Gegen 15.50 Uhr setzte sich der Aufzug in Bewegung. Vom Oranienplatz ging es über die Oranienstraße weiter zur Wiener-, Ohlauer Straße und Maybachufer. Dort gab es auf einem Dach eines Wohnhauses eine Solidaritätsaktion mit Feuerwerk und das Zeigen der PKK-Fahne. Zwar betrat die Polizei das Wohnhaus, um die Personen festzustellen, allerdings waren diese offenbar bereits über alle Berge. Über den Kottbusser Dann zogen die Teilnehmer weiter zum Hermannplatz, dort endete die Demonstration am frühen Abend.
Viele Demonstranten solidarisierten sich mit in Efrîn kämpfenden Verteidigungseinheiten der YPG und YPJ. In Redebeiträgen kritisierten die Redner die deutschen Rüstungsexporte und forderten die Bundesregierung auf, alle Rüstungsexporte in die Türkei zu stoppen. Zudem forderten die Demonstranten die internationale Weltgemeinschaft auf, Sanktionen gegen die Türkei zu verhängen. Kritisiert wurde auch das Verhalten der russischen Regierung, die bis zu Beginn der türkischen Offensive den syrischen Luftraum kontrolliert hatte. Bislang hatte sich Russland den Kurden gegenüber neutral verhalten, dies hat sich mittlerweile geändert.
Die Demonstration, die von einem großen Polizeiaufgebot begleitet wurde, verlief friedlich und ohne besondere Zwischenfälle. Bereits in den vergangenen Tagen hatten unzählige Kurden in mehreren deutschen Städten gegen die türkische Offensive demonstriert.
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Berge von Schwimmwesten liegen am 27.02.2016 in der Naehe von Molivos, Griechenland auf einer Muelldeponie. Ueber 120000 Fluechtlinge sind 2016 bereits mit Schlauchbooten in Griechenland angekommen. Die Schwimmwesten werden auf Mülldeponien auf der Insel abgeladen. Foto: Markus Heine / heineimaging
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Abfragen für Bildnutzung: box@heineimaging.de
Diyarbakir (Amed), Fête du Newroz 2015. Azadi signifie liberté en kurde. Cette année, la fête de Newroz qui marque le nouvel an kurde, symbole de renaissance et de résistance pour ce peuple, se déroule dans un contexte particulièrement tendu. Depuis décembre 2015, l'était turc assiège et bombarde des quartiers entiers de villes kurdes, où populatins civiles comme militants sont indistinctement massacrés, et soumet l'ensemble de la population kurde à un violente répression. D'un autre côté, la peur d'un attentat suicide de daesh est dans toutes les têtes. Malgré tout, même si ils sont moins nombreux que les années passées, les Kurdes se rejoignent à Amed, capitale du Kurdistan, pour fêter Newroz et célébrer leur résistance.
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
A few kilometers outside of Dohuk, Iraq, what was supposed to be a five-star hotel has become a nightmarish makeshift refugee camp. After ISIS attacked Sinjar, massacring and enslaving the local Yazidi people, a few of those fortunate enough to escape have sought refuge at the massive “Hotel Kayar” (literally “place where one receives friends). With construction stalled in its early stages, the concrete structure is an inhospitable environment for the 63 Yazidi families who now call it home. Children play with no railing or walls to prevent them from falling. “We just want tents like the other refugees,” said one man, after a storm recently ravaged the little infrastructure they managed to set up in the two months they’ve been here. With a cold winter right around the corner and scarce food and water, the future looks dire.And the kids keep smiling...
© Eric Lafforgue
CitizenGO & MasLibres dibujando el muro de una escuela primaria de Tel Escof, cuyas inscripciones hechas por el Daesh tapó ayer.
3 August 2014 will remain the day the life of the yazedis has changed. Up to 200,000 yazedis people have been displaced from their homes in Sinjar City and the surrounding towns and villages when ISIS arrived by surprise .
The islamist group asked the residents to convert or die...Hundreds of Yazidis were executed as they refused. Most of the people left the village on time, fleeing on foot in the mountains, without nothing and most of the time without water or food , under a 50 degrees temperature. They walked for 7 days, including the babies and the elders. Many were killed, wounded or captured on the way. Now thousands are in Duhok in Kurdistan, and towns like Zoar when they have found a shelter for the winter. Some still have contacts thanks to the mobile phones with the relatives captured or trapped in Sinjar, but many do not have any news of their relatives and fear the worst...Until now, the town od Sinjar is seized by ISIS, where hundreds of Yazidis remain stranded months after fleeing their homes.But Kurdish peshmergas have regained lot of the ground lost to ISIS with the help of the U.S. air strikes. Sinjar is a strategic place as it would put the peshmergas on three sides of Mosul, the largest city under ISIS rule in northern Iraq.
© Eric Lafforgue
Carved relief from the ancient Assyrian royal palace of Nineveh (Mosul in modern Iraq) detail of one of the many relief panels that once lined the walls now in the British Museum.
Many of these scenes depict the hunting of animals and are as cruel as they are beautifully rendered; this often makes me question my enjoyment of these stunning artworks when beautiful animals like lions and horses are seen to be suffering in them.
The site of Nineveh has been attacked by Daesh barbarians over the last two years of jihadi occupation, demolishing most of the few remaining structures and destroying 3000 years of history. It is located in the centre of Mosul which is currently a battleground as Iraqi forces attempt to reclaim their city. Whether any of the last vestiges of ancient Nineveh survive the liberation of the city remains to be seen, fortunately most of its more important sculpture is safe in museums like this.
3 August 2014 will remain the day the life of the yazedis has changed. Up to 200,000 yazedis people have been displaced from their homes in Sinjar City and the surrounding towns and villages when ISIS arrived by surprise .
The islamist group asked the residents to convert or die...Hundreds of Yazidis were executed as they refused. Most of the people left the village on time, fleeing on foot in the mountains, without nothing and most of the time without water or food , under a 50 degrees temperature. They walked for 7 days, including the babies and the elders. Many were killed, wounded or captured on the way. Now thousands are in Duhok in Kurdistan, and towns like Zoar when they have found a shelter for the winter. Some still have contacts thanks to the mobile phones with the relatives captured or trapped in Sinjar, but many do not have any news of their relatives and fear the worst...Until now, the town od Sinjar is seized by ISIS, where hundreds of Yazidis remain stranded months after fleeing their homes.But Kurdish peshmergas have regained lot of the ground lost to ISIS with the help of the U.S. air strikes. Sinjar is a strategic place as it would put the peshmergas on three sides of Mosul, the largest city under ISIS rule in northern Iraq.
© Eric Lafforgue
A few kilometers outside of Dohuk, Iraq, what was supposed to be a five-star hotel has become a nightmarish makeshift refugee camp. After ISIS attacked Sinjar, massacring and enslaving the local Yazidi people, a few of those fortunate enough to escape have sought refuge at the massive “Hotel Kayar” (literally “place where one receives friends). With construction stalled in its early stages, the concrete structure is an inhospitable environment for the 63 Yazidi families who now call it home. Children play with no railing or walls to prevent them from falling. “We just want tents like the other refugees,” said one man, after a storm recently ravaged the little infrastructure they managed to set up in the two months they’ve been here. With a cold winter right around the corner and scarce food and water, the future looks dire.And the kids keep smiling...
© Eric Lafforgue
Islamic State survivors and Iraqi Yazidi activists Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar received today Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The two women were honoured by Parliament for standing up for the persecuted Yazidi minority and the victims of sexual violence by Islamic State. “More than 3,500 children and women are still held hostage as slaves under Daesh. Every day they die a thousand times,” Aji Bashar said in her acceptance speech.
Read our article here: www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20161209STO55334
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Podczas wizyty w Waszyngtonie minister Witold Waszczykowski wziął udział w spotkaniu ministrów spraw zagranicznych Państw Globalnej Koalicji do Walki z Daesh, a także w spotkaniu tzw. Małej Grupy krajów najbardziej zaangażowanych w działania Koalicji.
fot.: Matthew Stefanski
3 August 2014 will remain the day the life of the yazedis has changed. Up to 200,000 yazedis people have been displaced from their homes in Sinjar City and the surrounding towns and villages when ISIS arrived by surprise .
The islamist group asked the residents to convert or die...Hundreds of Yazidis were executed as they refused. Most of the people left the village on time, fleeing on foot in the mountains, without nothing and most of the time without water or food , under a 50 degrees temperature. They walked for 7 days, including the babies and the elders. Many were killed, wounded or captured on the way. Now thousands are in Duhok in Kurdistan, and towns like Zoar when they have found a shelter for the winter. Some still have contacts thanks to the mobile phones with the relatives captured or trapped in Sinjar, but many do not have any news of their relatives and fear the worst...Until now, the town od Sinjar is seized by ISIS, where hundreds of Yazidis remain stranded months after fleeing their homes.But Kurdish peshmergas have regained lot of the ground lost to ISIS with the help of the U.S. air strikes. Sinjar is a strategic place as it would put the peshmergas on three sides of Mosul, the largest city under ISIS rule in northern Iraq.
© Eric Lafforgue
Camp de Maxmur, Irak. Base arrière de la guerilla. Shaher est à Maxmur depuis plusieurs mois. Il commande une unité. Il insiste sur le fait que son combat n'est pas kurde mais universel, et qu'il combat à la fois le terrorisme (daesh) et le capitalisme. Si parfois les guerilla collaborent militairement ave les peshmergas du KDP irakien, la collaboration s'arrête là.
A few kilometers outside of Dohuk, Iraq, what was supposed to be a five-star hotel has become a nightmarish makeshift refugee camp. After ISIS attacked Sinjar, massacring and enslaving the local Yazidi people, a few of those fortunate enough to escape have sought refuge at the massive “Hotel Kayar” (literally “place where one receives friends). With construction stalled in its early stages, the concrete structure is an inhospitable environment for the 63 Yazidi families who now call it home. Children play with no railing or walls to prevent them from falling. “We just want tents like the other refugees,” said one man, after a storm recently ravaged the little infrastructure they managed to set up in the two months they’ve been here. With a cold winter right around the corner and scarce food and water, the future looks dire.And the kids keep smiling...
© Eric Lafforgue
3 August 2014 will remain the day the life of the yazedis has changed. Up to 200,000 yazedis people have been displaced from their homes in Sinjar City and the surrounding towns and villages when ISIS arrived by surprise .
The islamist group asked the residents to convert or die...Hundreds of Yazidis were executed as they refused. Most of the people left the village on time, fleeing on foot in the mountains, without nothing and most of the time without water or food , under a 50 degrees temperature. They walked for 7 days, including the babies and the elders. Many were killed, wounded or captured on the way. Now thousands are in Duhok in Kurdistan, and towns like Zoar when they have found a shelter for the winter. Some still have contacts thanks to the mobile phones with the relatives captured or trapped in Sinjar, but many do not have any news of their relatives and fear the worst...Until now, the town od Sinjar is seized by ISIS, where hundreds of Yazidis remain stranded months after fleeing their homes.But Kurdish peshmergas have regained lot of the ground lost to ISIS with the help of the U.S. air strikes. Sinjar is a strategic place as it would put the peshmergas on three sides of Mosul, the largest city under ISIS rule in northern Iraq.
© Eric Lafforgue
Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.
According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.
Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”
They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.
Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.
Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.
ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.
They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.
Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.
The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.
The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.
They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.
When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.
The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.
If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.
© Eric Lafforgue
This month the International Organisation for Migration has carried out relief operations in areas newly retaken from Daesh around Mosul in Iraq, targeting newly displaced people who have fled to more stable areas. Last week, 110 full winter non-food relief item (NFI) kits were distributed, including blankets, heaters and carpets, to families in the town of Haj Ali. The kits were funded by the UK’s Department for International Development.
The UK is providing £14 million in humanitarian aid to help support up to 66,000 people in and around Mosul via IOM.
Picture: IOM
This how Brussels reacts to the terrorist bombings in the metro & airport this morning.
We may not allow terrorists to drive us into a police-state. We must keep our freedom & our way of life safe-guarded.
The video: youtu.be/Pn_YhB8g86o
Rund 1.500 Menschen sind am 20.01.2018 in Berlin-Kreuzberg auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen den Angriff der türkischen Armee auf das westkurdische Kanton Efrîn zu demonstrieren. Lautstark forderten die Demonstranten das Ende der Militäraktionen und den Abzug sämtlicher türkische Einheiten und deren Verbündete von der türkischen-syrischen Grenze. Die türkische Luftwaffe hatte am Mittag begonnen aus der Luft dutzende Beobachtungsstellungen der kurdischen Volksverteidigungseinheiten YPG zu bombardieren. Bei dem Angriff seien mindestens zehn türkische Kampfflugzeuge beteiligt gewesen. Nach unbestätigten Angaben sollen auch mit der Türkei verbündete Rebellen der „Freien Syrischen Armee (FSA)“ nach Efrîn vorgedrungen zu sein. Dafür gab es zunächst aber keine Bestätigung. Bei den Angriffen wurden laut kurdischen Angaben, mindestens sechs Zivilisten und drei Kämpfer der YPG getötet.
Zu der Demonstration hatten mehrere kurdische Gruppen und Vereine aufgerufen. In Redebeiträgen kritisierten die Redner unter anderem Russland, die den syrischen Luftraum kontrolliert. Offenbar hat die russische Regierung zuvor ihre Einwilligung zu den Luftschlägen gegeben. Aber auch die Rüstungsexporte der Bundesregierung wurden massiv kritisiert. Trotz der aufgeheizten Stimmung der Demonstration, verlief die Veranstaltung friedlich und ohne besondere Zwischenfälle. Auch aus anderen europäischen Städten wurden Proteste gemeldet.
In Berlin-Kreuzberg sind am 20. Januar 2018 rund 1.500 Menschen auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen den Angriff der türkischen Armee auf das westkurdische Kanton Efrîn zu protestieren. Lautstark forderten die Demonstranten das Ende der Militäraktionen sowie den Abzug sämtlicher türkische Einheiten und deren Verbündete von der türkischen-syrischen Grenze. Die türkische Luftwaffe hatte zuvor am Nachmittag begonnen dutzende Beobachtungsstellungen der kurdischen Volksverteidigungseinheiten YPG zu bombardieren. Aber auch auf die Efrîn-Stadt sowie das Flüchtlingscamp in Rûbar, in dem mehr als 20.000 Geflüchtete aus anderen Teilen Syriens leben, wurden aus der Luft angegriffen. Ein Sprecher der kurdischen Truppen sprach von mindestens 108 Raketeneinschlägen.
Bei den Angriffen seien mindestens zehn türkische Kampfflugzeuge beteiligt gewesen. Vielerorts stiegen in der türkisch-syrischen Grenzregion schwarze Rauchschwaden auf. Bei den Angriffen wurden laut kurdischen Angaben, mindestens sechs Zivilisten und drei Kämpfer der YPG getötet. Dutzende Menschen wurden verletzt, einige davon schwer. Nach unbestätigten Angaben sollen auch mit der Türkei verbündete Rebellen der „Freien Syrischen Armee (FSA)“ nach Efrîn vorgedrungen zu sein. Dafür gab es zunächst aber keine Bestätigung. Allerdings kündigte Ministerpräsident Binali Yıldırım im türkischen Fernsehen, dass „Ab morgen werden Bodentruppen eingesetzt" werden.
Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hatte die Militäroffensive zu Beginn der Woche angekündigt und gesagt, er wolle Truppen nach Efrîn schicken, um YPG-Kämpfer zu vertreiben. Vor Parteifreunden sagte er "Wir werden sämtliche Terrornester in Syrien Stück für Stück ausrotten, beginnend mit Efrîn". Schon in den vergangenen Tagen hatte die türkische Armee viele Panzer und anderes Kriegsgerät an die syrische Grenze gebracht. Die Operation mit dem Namen „Olivenzweig" (Operasyonun „Zeytin Dalı“) schien nur eine Frage der Zeit.
Heute sagte der türkische Staatspräsident vor Anhängern in der westanatolischen Stadt Küthaya: "Die Efrîn-Operation ist de facto gestartet. Anschließend ist Manbidsch dran. Nach und nach werden wir diese dreckigen Terroristen, die in unser Land eindringen wollen, verscheuchen. Beginnend von Westen bis hin zu irakischen Grenze.". Mit Terroristen sind in diesem Fall die kurdischen Volksverteidigungseinheiten „Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG“) und die Frauenverteidigungseinheiten „Yekîneyên Parastina Jin (YPJ)“ gemeint. Die Türkei sieht in ihnen die syrische Variante der als Terrororganisation verbotenen PKK.
Mit der Militäroffensive will die Türkei offenbar verhindern, dass die Kurden im Nordwesten Syriens eine Autonomieregion errichten. Die Militäroffensive richtet sich allerdings nicht nur gegen die Kurden, sondern auch gegen die USA. Die US-Regierung unterstützt die YPG in Syrien und schätzt sie als Partner im Kampf gegen die Terrormiliz "Islamischer Staat" - auch dauerhaft. Die USA haben angekündigt, im Nordwesten Syriens eine Grenzschutztruppe unter Führung der YPG etablieren zu wollen.
Gegen die Angriffe der türkischen Armee riefen mehrere kurdische Gruppen und Vereine zu Protesten unter dem Motto „Lasst uns die Stimmen erheben – Gegen die türkische Kriegspolitik – Für die Solidarität mit Afrin!“ auf. Aus diesem Grund versammelten sich am Samstagnachmittag auf dem Hermannplatz mehrere hundert Menschen zur Auftaktveranstaltung. Später wuchs die Anzahl der Demonstranten auf rund 1.500. In Redebeiträgen kritisierten die Redner unter anderem Russland, die bislang den syrischen Luftraum kontrolliert. Offenbar hatte die russische Regierung zuvor ihre Einwilligung zu den Luftschlägen gegeben. Bereits in den vergangenen Tagen, hatte das russische Verteidigungsministerium damit begonnen, sämtliches Militärpersonal aus Efrîn abzuziehen. Bislang hatte sich Russland den Kurden gegenüber neutral verhalten, dies scheint sich mittlerweile geändert zu haben. Aber auch die Rüstungsexporte der Bundesregierung wurden in den Redebeiträgen massiv kritisiert.
Gegen 16.30 Uhr setze sich der Aufzug in Richtung Oranienplatz in Bewegung. Trotz der angespannten Lage, verlief die Demonstration friedlich und ohne besondere Zwischenfälle. Lediglich am Rande kam es vereinzelt zu Provokationen türkischer Nationalisten. Die Polizei, die mit einem Großaufgebot vor Ort war, verhinderte jedoch ein direktes Aufeinandertreffen. In vielen anderen europäischen Städten wurden ebenfalls Proteste gemeldet. Unter anderem gab es Demonstrationen in Nürnberg, Frankfurt/Main, Kassel, Mannheim, Wien, Kopenhagen, Paris und in Zürich. Auch für die kommenden Tagen werden weitere Protestaktionen erwartet.
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Rund 15.000 Menschen sind am 03.03.2018 in Berlin auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen den Angriffskrieg der türkischen Armee in Nordsyrien zu demonstrieren. Lautstark forderten die Demonstranten das Ende des völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffs des türkischen Militärs auf das selbstverwaltete kurdische Kanton Efrîn sowie den Abzug sämtlicher türkische Einheiten und deren Verbündete aus der Region. Das türkische Militär hatte vor rund sechs Wochen die „Operation Olivenzweig" gestartet und begann zunächst aus der Luft hunderte Ziele in Efrîn zu bombardieren. Später drang die türkische Armee unterstützt von verbündeten Milizen der radikalislamistischen „Freien Syrischen Armee (FSA)“ in das Kanton vor. Bei den Kämpfen wurden laut Angaben der Syrischen Beobachtungsstelle für Menschenrechte (SOHR) bislang mindestens 139 Zivilisten getötet, zehntausende Menschen sind seitdem auf der Flucht.
Zu der Großdemonstration unter dem Motto „Freiheit für Afrin“ hatte ein bundesweites Bündnis aus über 100 Gruppen, Initiativen und Einzelpersonen aufgerufen. Viele Demonstranten solidarisierten sich mit in Efrîn kämpfenden Verteidigungseinheiten der YPG und YPJ. In Redebeiträgen kritisierten die Redner die Bundesregierung und forderten sie auf, alle Rüstungsexporte in die Türkei zu stoppen. Zudem riefen sie die internationale Weltgemeinschaft auf, Sanktionen gegen die Türkei zu verhängen und Humanitäre Hilfe für den Kanton Efrîn aufzunehmen. Die Protestaktion verlief weitgehend friedlich, lediglich am Ende kam es zu Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Demonstranten und der Polizei. Dabei wurden mindestens drei Personen festgenommen sowie mehrere Personen verletzt.
In Berlin-Mitte sind am 03. März 2018 rund 15.000 Menschen auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen den Angriffskrieg der türkischen Armee in Nordsyrien zu demonstrieren. Lautstark forderten die Demonstranten das Ende des völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffs des türkischen Militärs auf das selbstverwaltete kurdische Kanton Efrîn sowie den Abzug sämtlicher türkische Einheiten und deren Verbündete aus der Region in Nordsyrien. Vor rund sechs Wochen startet das türkische Militär mit dem Angriff, in dem Luftwaffe begonnen hatte, über hunderte Ziele im Kanton zu bombardieren. Dabei wurden nicht nur Beobachtungsstellungen der kurdischen Volksverteidigungseinheiten (YPG) getroffen, sondern auch Wohngebäuden in Efrîn-Stadt. Ebenfalls getroffen wurde das Flüchtlingscamp in Rûbar, in dem mehr als 20.000 Geflüchtete aus anderen Teilen Syriens leben. Bereits am ersten Tag kamen mindestens sechs Zivilisten und drei Kämpfer der YPG ums Leben.
Einen Tag später drangen türkische Truppen mit Panzer nach Efrîn. Unterstützt wurde sie von tausenden Angehörigen der Milizen der radikalislamistischen „Freien Syrischen Armee (FSA)“, der Hamza-Brigade, der sunnitisch-islamistischen Levante-Front sowie der salafistischen Ahrar al-Scham, die mit der Türkei verbündet sind. Nach sechs Wochen kontrolliert das türkische Militär sowie ihre Verbündete den kompletten Grenzstreifen zur Türkei in Efrîn. Rund 22% des selbstverwaltete Kanton wurde bereits durch die Türkei eingenommen. Vergangene Woche waren syrische Regierungssoldaten sowie regierungsnahe syrische Milizen in Afrin eingerückt, um die YPG im Kampf gegen die Türkei zu unterstützen. Die YPG hatte Damaskus im Februar um militärische Hilfe gebeten.
Am 24. Februar 2018 beschloss der UN Sicherheitsrat einstimmig einen 30 Tage dauernden Waffenstillstand, von dem der IS, die al-Nusra-Front, al-Qaida und mit ihr verbündete Gruppierungen sowie andere vom UN Sicherheitsrat festgelegte Terrororganisationen ausgenommen sind. Die Türkei hatte jedoch bereits angekündigt, den Waffenstillstand zu ignorieren und ihre Offensive ungeachtet der UN-Resolution fortzusetzen. Laut Angaben der Syrischen Beobachtungsstelle für Menschenrechte (SOHR) gab es bislang auf türkischer Seite mindestens 300 Tote und mehrere zerstörte Panzer. Auf Seiten der Kurden wurden bislang mindestens 130 Zivilisten und 270 Kämpfer getötet. Seit dem Krieg befinden sich mehrere zehntausende Menschen auf der Flucht.
Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hatte bereits vor der Militäroffensive angekündigt, er wolle Truppen nach Efrîn schicken, um YPG-Kämpfer zu vertreiben. Vor Parteifreunden sagte er "Wir werden sämtliche Terrornester in Syrien Stück für Stück ausrotten, beginnend mit Efrîn". Schon in den vergangenen Tagen hatte die türkische Armee viele Panzer und anderes Kriegsgerät an die syrische Grenze gebracht. Die Operation mit dem Namen „Olivenzweig" (Operasyonun „Zeytin Dalı“) schien daher nur eine Frage der Zeit. Bereits in der Vergangenheit, hatte Erdoğan immer wieder davon gesprochen, „die dreckigen Terroristen in Rojava zu verscheuchen. Beginnend von Westen bis hin zu irakischen Grenze.". Mit Terroristen sind in diesem Fall die kurdischen Volksverteidigungseinheiten „Yekîneyên Parastina Gel (YPG“) und die Frauenverteidigungseinheiten „Yekîneyên Parastina Jin (YPJ)“ gemeint. Die Türkei sieht in ihnen die syrische Variante der als Terrororganisation verbotenen PKK und als Bedrohung für die türkische Grenze.
Mit dem Krieg will die Türkei offenbar verhindern, dass die Kurden im Nordwesten Syriens eine Autonomieregion errichten. Die Militäroffensive richtet sich allerdings nicht nur gegen die Kurden, sondern auch gegen die USA. Die US-Regierung unterstützt die YPG in Syrien und schätzt sie als Partner im Kampf gegen die Terrormiliz "Islamischer Staat" - auch dauerhaft. Die USA haben angekündigt, im Nordwesten Syriens eine Grenzschutztruppe unter Führung der YPG etablieren zu wollen.
Gegen den Krieg der türkischen Armee hatte ein bundesweites Bündnis aus über 100 Gruppen, Initiativen, , Hilfsorganisationen, Parteien, Gewerkschaften und Einzelpersonen zu einer Großdemonstration aufgerufen. Unterstützt wurde die Demonstration unter von Gruppen wie NAV-DEM, Kurdistan-Solidaritätskomitee Berlin, Kampagne TATORT Kurdistan, Feministische Kampagne Gemeinsam Kämpfen!, DIE LINKE Berlin, DIE LINKE Hamburg, GEW Hamburg, Arbeitskreis Internationalismus – IG Metall Berlin, Bundesverband linksjugend [´solid] , die Interventionistische Linke, Bündnis Zwangsräumung Verhindern sowie medico international. Aber auch Einzelpersonen wie die Auschwitz-Überlebende, Esther Bejarano, der Politikwissenschaftler Ismail Küpeli, die LINKE-Politikerin Ulla Jelpke (MdB) sowie der partizipations-, flüchtlings- und innenpolitischer Sprecher der Berliner Fraktion DIE LINKE, Hakan Taş, riefen zum Protest auf.
In einer Erklärung forderten das Bündnis unter anderem sofortige Maßnahmen, insbesondere auch auf UNO-, EU- und NATO-Ebene, für die Beendigung des völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffs des türkischen Militärs auf Efrîn, das sofortiges Ende deutscher Rüstungsexporte in die Türkei , politischen und diplomatischen Einsatz für die Wiederaufnahme der 2015 abgebrochenen kurdisch-türkischen Friedensgespräche, die Anerkennung der Demokratischen Föderation Nordsyrien und Unterstützung der demokratischen Selbstverwaltungen sowie humanitäre Hilfe für den Kanton Afrin, insbesondere für Verwundete und Flüchtlinge.
Unter dem Motto „Frieden für Afrin - Gemeinsam gegen die türkischen Angriffe auf Afrin!“ versammelten sich die Demonstranten zur Auftaktkundgebung am Alexanderplatz. Wie bereits bei den vorausgegangenen Demonstrationen, erlaubte die Polizei auch dieses Mal das Mitführen von Fahnen und Symbole der Volksverteidigungseinheiten YPG und der YPJ. Dagegen verboten blieben Portraits des in der Türkei inhaftierten Vorsitzenden der Arbeiterpartei Kurdistans (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan. Dennoch wurde während der Veranstaltung wiederholt Fahnen und Plakate mit dem Abbild von Öcalan gezeigt.
Gegen 13.00 Uhr setzte sich der Aufzug in Bewegung. Die Teilnehmer zogen zunächst vom Neptunbrunnen vor dem Roten Rathaus über die Leipziger, Breite Straße über den Schloßplatz zum Auswärtigen Amt am Werderscher Markt. Von dort aus ging es von der Friedrichstraße über die Unter den Linden und der Wilhelmstraße zur Reichstagsgebäude. Am Platz des 18. März vor dem Brandenburger Tor endete die Demonstration mit einer Abschlusskundgebung.
Die Veranstaltung verlief zwar weitgehend friedlich, dennoch kam es kurz vorm Ende der Demonstration zu Auseinandersetzungen mit der Polizei. In der Dorotheenstraße drangen Einsatzkräfte der Polizei in den kurdischen Jugend-Block, in der offenbar zuvor Nebeltöpfe gezündet wurde, um Festnahmen zu tätigen. Dabei setzte sie wiederholt Pfefferspray gegen die Demonstranten ein. Diese wiederum wehrten sich mit Fahnenstangen und vereinzelten Böller- und Flaschenwürfen. Bei den Auseinandersetzungen wurden mindestens drei Personen vorläufig festgenommen, zudem gab es mehrere Verletzte auf beiden Seiten. Nach rund 10 Minuten beruhigte sich die Lage wieder.
Da zur selben Zeitpunkt noch ein rechter Aufmarsch stattfand, waren insgesamt rund 1.800 Polizisten im Einsatz gewesen, darunter auch Kräfte aus Sachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen sowie aus dem benachbarten Brandenburg.
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Nutzungsrecht
Wenn Sie ein Foto verwenden möchten, kontaktieren Sie mich bitte per E-Mail. Veröffentlichung nur mit Fotografennennung, sowie gegen Honorar!
Denken Sie bitte daran, dass auch wenn Ihnen ein Nutzungsrecht gewährt wurde, dass die Werke Eigentum des Urhebers bleiben. Eine Weitergabe bzw. Übertragung des überlassenen Materials an Dritte, ist ohne schriftliche Genehmigung des Urhebers nicht gestattet!
Allgemeinen Liefer- und Geschäftsbedingungen (AGB)
Bitte beachten Sie auch meine Allgemeinen Liefer- und Geschäftsbedingungen (AGB) / Please note my General terms and condition: AGB / Terms & Condition
Alle Verstöße werden rechtlich verfolgt!
Please note
All rights reserved! Don't publish without copyright!
Vielen Dank / Thanks!
PM Cheung Photography
Stand: Juli 2016
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