YPG Til Temir Commander Hawar Suruç said Kobanê was particularly targeted by ISIS with an aim to eliminate the gains of the Kurdish people over Kobanê.

Speaking to ANF, YPG Commander underlined that the Turkish state had planned to eliminate the Kurdish Freedom Movement through ISIS but couldn't succeed. 

'ESSENTIAL GOAL WAS TO STRANGLE ROJAVA REVOLUTION OVER KOBANÊ'

Recalling that Kobanê was the place where the first strategic battle began, YPG Commander said the goal and strategy of the gangs was to succeed in all the areas where they attacked.

YPG Commander pointed out that the goal of the gangs was to strangle and finish the Rojava Revolution over Kobanê, saying; "In addition, Kobanê has an obvious strategic importance due to its geographical position as it is located in the middle of the Afrin and Cizirê cantons. The gangs were aware that the fall of Kobanê would cause a disintegration of the other cantons. Kobanê was also targeted because it is historically also a sacred land of resistance. The fall of Kobanê would further make Afrin fall and leave it isolated, and also cause dispiritedness in Cizirê. In short, the entire Rojava territory would fall in the event of Kobanê's fall. This was what the gangs aimed to succeed, and therefore they used all their heavy weapons against Kobanê. All their attacks were conducted deliberately with the support of some states. For instance, the weapons they used against Kobanê were those they had seized in Mosul and from the regime. As a matter of fact, Kobanê was made a target from all aspects. YPG was also aware of this situation but lacked the sufficient amount of ammunition, which caused major difficulties."

'ISIS WAS DEFEATED BY THE APOIST SPIRIT'

YPG Commander recalled that during that period, ISIS would take any town and area it attacked, and conducted a large wave of attacks on Kobanê too on the basis of this strategy. Calling attention to ISIS' goal to ensure its own ruling on Kobanê and commit massacres against the people, Hawar Suruç said; "Kobanê has a major strategic position in Rojava. It is located at the border with Bakurê (North) Kurdistan. Its fall would thus influence Bakur as well and enable the gangs to realize any pressure, intervention or attack they wanted on Bakur side. Besides, they also had the support of the Turkish state and wouldn't face any difficulty in making this goal of theirs real. As is already known, the ISIS ideology is not based on fighting the regime alone, it is rather to found an Islamic state in the Middle East. By taking Kobanê, ISIS would manage to have an influence and spread a fear on Kurdistan, Turkey, Syria and all the states in the world. The gangs were planning to take Kobanê in several days but they didn't consider one thing; the philosophy of the Apoist spirit. It is true that some states provided support by airstrikes, yet those who comment that Kobanê would have fallen but for this support, did obviously fail to understand the philosophy of the Apoist spirit and PKK movement. It is beyond question that airstrikes helped, but this only hindered suffering further losses of lives. In other words, the philosophy and spirit of Leader Apo is the biggest accomplishment of the Kobanê resistance. It was the loyalty of the martyrs to the movement and its leader Apo that enabled an accomplishment. It is the Kurdish people that defeated the attacks of ISIS."

‘KOBANÊ VICTORY SHOCKED ERDOĞAN'

Recalling that the people of Bakurê Kurdistan held a vigil and gave a struggle at Kobanê border during the course of intensified attacks by ISIS, YPG Commander said that it was, however, primarily the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan's call for mobilisation for Kobanê that made the Kurdish people go into action. He stressed that; "Kobanê was not an ordinary battle and it was the severest one of those witnessed until that day. It was the Apoist militant spirit of the Kurdish movement that triumphed over ISIS with the experience and consciousness that had been gained from the long years of struggle. In Bakur, the Turkish state conducted operations and attacks for months but it never succeeded. Kobanê was the first one of its kind in the PKK history because the enemy was a different one this time. The method and geography was different. YPG was a newly-emerged movement tat lacked experience, which caused many difficulties but the people fought with commitment and eventually buried ISIS in Kobanê. Only then did the entire world understand the fact that the Kurdish movement and Kurdish youths were the only force to fight and defeat ISIS. Kobanê witnessed the peak of resistance by the Kurdish people, and this was of great importance. Many states started to provide support in the wake of the Kobanê victory. This is a reality of the governments and regimes; to support the powerful side and want to have a share in the victory. Of course, there were some states and powers that were disturbed by Kobanê victory, one of which was the Turkish state and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They were shocked because they didn't expect such resistance."

'TURKISH STATE'S OPERATION AGAINST ISIS IS FOR SHOW'

Reminding of the propaganda spread then by the Turkish government and officials who repeatedly said "Kobanê is about to fall", YPG Commander said the aim of such remarks was to demoralize the people and break their resistance, adding that they, however, couldn't manage to do so due to the Apoist militant spirit.

Til Temir Commander Hawar Suruç underlined that the Turkish state opened all its borders for ISIS after the beginning of their attacks on Kobanê, saying this was because of the fact that the Turkish state had planned to eliminate the Kurdish Freedom Movement through ISIS but couldn't succeed.

'WE WILL STEP UP THE STRUGGLE WITH ALL DIVERSITIES'

YPG Commander pointed out that those who backed ISIS and helped its emergence did later face the fact that ISIS went out of control and would be a trouble to both themselves and the whole world. "It was only the Turkish state that didn't consider this reality and continued supporting ISIS for its sole purpose; to finish the Kurds. The Turkish state grounded all its policy and politics on this single purpose which was, however, defeated by the Kurdish movement and the Kurdish people. Kobanê resistance became a representation of the oppressed peoples. Those joining the Kobanê battle and fighting in the battlefield are those who believe in freedom and humanity. They were in small numbers but had a great symbolic meaning as all the communities fought together against a common enemy. The policy of creating enemies with an aim to make slaves out of he people will never work because there will always be movements to fight against these forces. This reality has been proved in Kobanê where the cadres leading the society and defending freedom fell a martyr. We waged a historic resistance in Kobanê at the cost of heavy prices."

‘KOBANÊ IS AN EPIC'

Drawing attention to the fight of the Kurds against slavery for years, YPG Commander said; "Kurds became the symbol of the flag of resistance. Kobanê played a great historic role by inflicting major blows on the ISIS gangs. Kobanê is an epic, a history. Our martyrs are the symbols of Kobanê. But for them, the ISIS would have committed big massacres in the entire Middle East territory. After Kobanê victory, ISIS remained ineffective and lost the strength to conduct further attacks. ISIS is an imaginary organisation now and is carrying out small attacks just to cause disturbance."