HPG Sinjar commander Yaşar Berçelan has assessed the latest situation in Sinjar for ANF.

Since 3 August last year the HPG forces have been in Sinjar defending the Yazidi people. How do you evaluate this period?

Before the attacks started Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan drew attention to the existing situation and said the Kurds needed to establish a defensive line from Rojava to Halabja. He said this was necessary to defend the Assyrians, Turkmen and all the communities living in Kurdistan, not just the Yazidi Kurds.

At that time the Yazidi Kurds did not have a defence force. Some of our cadre tried to go to the area to establish what needed to be done, but the KDP endeavoured to prevent the PKK reaching the area.

During the attacks, referred to as the 73rd massacre, the guerrillas reached the area and took up defence duties. How were the hundreds of thousands of people here defended?

When the attacks started on 3 August there was no way anyone could stop us protecting our people. At first 7 of our guerrillas got here and established a defence line on Mount Sinjar with Yazidi fighters and people from TEVDA. The YPG forces then came from the north and west and opened a humanitarian corridor. This corridor saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Even the water brought in through this corridor saved lives in the August heat. The 73rd massacre took place due to a lack of defence. Those who did not want the Yazidis to organise did not defend them, either.

The PKK and its defence force, the HPG, prevented a larger massacre being perpetrated.  This was a historic intervention. The HPG is a force that defends human values. It also protected the Shia and the Turkmen from Tel Afar.

Despite the corridor being opened thousands of people preferred to stay on the mountain with the guerrillas. Thus, the ISIS gangs’ aim to carry out ethnic cleansing was thwarted. Our intervention also contributed to the national awakening in all four parts of Kurdistan.

With the closing of the corridor, ISIS retook a broad area including Xanesor, Dihola, Dugura, Mişêrfa and Rabia. But the guerrillas and the people held out for two months on the mountain. The guerrillas shared their food with the people.

When the corridor was reopened many plans were made, but unfortunately unity of Kurdish forces could not be achieved. The KDP PDK tried to open a corridor from Zumar. On 19 December the HPG forces from the north and the YPG forces from Rojava launched a joint operation, opening a second corridor through Tel Kocher, Rabia and Jazaa.

At the same time the KDP forces came from the north east towards Sinjar.

You are talking about a 2 month-long operation?

Yes, the operation to liberate Sinjar is only half completed. The peshmerga force numbered 16 thousand fighters, but it was not well planned. They were hoping that Mosul and Tel Afar would be retaken and that Sinjar would fall without a fight. After a few days the main force withdrew, leaving just one battalion behind, consisting mainly of local people and some PUK fighters. A united national effort is needed to liberate the town. During this 2-month resistance 20 of our comrades fell and many were wounded, but with the organisation created we have consolidated our people’s defence.

How many ISIS are left on the north and south of Mount Sinjar? Are they able to respond to guerrilla attacks?

The north side of Mount Sinjar has been completely cleansed. There are ISIS gangs to the south of the mountain and on the line towards Rojava Kurdistan. They are dug in there. We have the old town and command of the hills around the town.

The Kurdish people are fighting all the way from Afrîn and Kobanê to Kirkuk on a long front. We have broken the back of the gangs’ attacks and set up a defensive line. They are now reduced to firing mortars from a distance. Their attack capabilities have been weakened, but in order to retake the town we need coordinated actions.

What should the Kurdish and international forces do to succeed in liberating Sinjar?

For a start the Kurdish forces should abandon their narrow party interests. For Sinjar to be liberated there must be coordinated action between the military forces.

What should the Yazidi people do in this operation and how should they act?

First and foremost the Yazidis must unite. They must join the ranks of the YBŞ and protect their land and their sacred values. They should turn the pain they have endured into victory.