Tel Abyad Operation and the great danger at the door...

Tel Abyad is ISIS’s gateway not only to Turkey but also to the entire world. Many recruits and equipments are transferred to ISIS through this town.

Tel Abyad is located across the Akçakale district of Urfa, 70 km to the east of Kobanê and 110 km to the west of Serêkaniyê...

Tel Abyad is located across the Akçakale district of Urfa, 70 km to the east of Kobanê and 110 km to the west of Serêkaniyê. Like Kobanê, Serêkaniyê and Qamışlo, Tel Abyad is split into two by the Turkish-Syrian border. Kurds call Tel Abyad ‘Grê Spî’ and Akçakale ‘Kaniya Xezalan.’ Tel Abyad was the main target of the Arab Belt project that began in Syria in the 1960s and forced Kurds to migrate. The town is located in between Kobanê and Cizîr regions and has been the main base of the Baath regime’s geographical and cultural efforts to divide the two regions.

When the war began in Syria in 2011, Syrian opposition forces and radical Sunni groups began to mobilize Kurdish and Arab people living in Tel Abyad. These opposition forces were replaced by Al-Qaeda groups in 2012, who used the support they received through the Turkish border crossing in order to attack Kurds. They exploded Kurds’ mobilization center Mala Gel and released footage of this attack to force disloyal civilians to migrate. Tens of people were brutally massacred. After Nusra’s Serêkaniyê defeat in 2013, ISIS took over the town. Akçakale-Tel Abyad border crossing has never been closed and the TİGEM Farm, which expands for tens of kilometers between Akçakale and Ceylanpınar, has been used as ISIS headquarters. Traffic between Tel Abyad and this farm continues uninterrupted, but the area is closed off to civilians.

Tel Abyad is ISIS’s gateway not only to Turkey but also to the entire world. Many recruits and equipments are transferred to ISIS through this town. It is located 100 km to the north of Rakka; ISIS capital in Syria. In order to go to Rakka from the north, one would need to go through Tel Abyad. Ayn İssa to the southwest and Suluk to the southeast of Tel Abyad are the two most important regions in between Tel Abyad and Rakka. Through the route of Tel Abyad-Suluk-Ebduleziz Mountains, ISIS was able move freely all the way until the Iraqi border and the Musul plain in Iraq. Turkish diplomats in Musul were transported through this route before they reached Akçakale. Since the area in between Ebduleziz Mountains and the Iraqi border was liberated by YPG, ISIS has been struggling and using the Deyr al Zor route instead.

Shortly, Tel Abyad is the tube ISIS breathes through. But the town is equally important for Kurdish and opposition forces. ISIS attacked Kobanê from here and the gangs in Tel Abyad pose a great danger for Rojava revolution and Syria in general. Rojava and Syria will not be at ease as long as Tel Abyad is under ISIS control. The liberation of Tel Abyad will clearly be a strategic development for Rojava. It will get rid of gangs, contribute to stability in Syria, and speed up the dissolution of ISIS.

YPG and Burkan El Fırat forces are currently leading the Tel Abyad operation. Burkat El Fırat is an autonomous revolutionary force that was initially formed under the umbrella of Free Syrian Army. Members of different Syrian peoples make up these forces. People still remember how they fought side by side with YPG during Kobanê resistance. YPG and Burkan El Fırat joint forces are liberating the villages that lie to the east and southeast of Kobanê and preventing ISIS attempts to expand northwards by blockading the town of Sirrin. These revolutionary forces have liberated many villages near Ayn İssa, which lies to the north of Rakka. Forces from the Eastern front have liberated Mebruka and are fighting ISIS in Suluk. After the liberation of Suluk, forces from Kobanê and Cizîr fronts may unite in the area that lies to the south of Tel Abyad and take the Tel Abyad-Rakka route. This would mean the encircling of ISIS in Tel Abyad from three different directions. If the region between Tel Abyad and Rakka were liberated, ISIS would not be able to recover in this area. However, this is going to take time because this area of 20 to 30 km is highly valued by ISIS. ISIS is using human shields in order to keep control of the region. Burkan El Fırat and YPG forces are making additional efforts to not harm civilians and many families in the area are contacting YPG in order to be liberated from ISIS.

Nobody did anything so far for the civilians in Tel Abyad who have been living under ISIS terror for more than 2 years. On the contrary, AKP government has been supporting ISIS. Unlike civilian people, ISIS members are able to cross Akçakale Border Crossing freely. Furthermore, Erdoğan did not hesitate to express his discontent at the operation carried out by Burkan El Fırat and YPG forces. Everybody knows that Erdoğan was referring to ISIS when he said “Arabs and Turkmens in Tel Abyad are being bombed.” Just like ISIS, Erdoğan is bothered by the operation here.

However, this approach will not stop the liberation of Tel Abyad. The operation will continue and Tel Abyad will be cleared of ISIS. One week after the war of Kobanê began (22 September 2014), People’s Defense Center Headquarters Commander Murat Karayılan had said “Tel Abyad will fall, not Kobanê.” Once Tel Abyad is liberated from ISIS, there will not be any reason for revolutionary forces and the international coalition to target Rakka. This would imply the end of ISIS in Syria. In Turkey, this would translate as the exposal and collapse of AKP’s Syria-Rojava policies…

Time will show us whether this will happen or not. But for now, Tel Abyad’s liberation will make it impossible for Turkey and ISIS to make plans with regards to Rojava and Syria. The border crossing between ISIS and Turkey will also be closed down. In this case, what would ISIS gangs encircled from three different directions do, where would they go?

This is the main question at hand now. According to incoming information, many gang members in Tel Abyad have crossed over to Turkey. These groups operating with Turkish support do not have any options but to escape to Turkey when Tel Abyad falls. It seems that ISIS and its partners will not stomach this defeat. It is possible for these forces entering Turkey to attack Tel Abyad from across the border. The current situation does not only affect Rojava and is crucial for the entire region. The June 5 attack on HDP rally in Amed and the bombings of HDP headquarters in Adana and Mersin before the elections are not mere pre-election developments. ISIS and AKP will not hesitate revenging their Rojava defeat through attacks in Amed. It is important for all Kurdish and anti-war organizations to see this approaching danger.

The war in Tel Abyad will take time. Civilians will be pushed towards the border and AKP will try to taint the Tel Abyad operation. But eventually, the black flag in Akçakale Border Crossing will fall because Tel Abyad can no longer tolerate ISIS.

It must be remembered that this operation is crucial for the security of Rojava, Syria, Kurds, and Turkey. AKP is content with ISIS presence on the Turkish border and is bound to collaborate with ISIS in order to prevent the Kurdish movement from making strategic gains. This issue is the most important agenda topic that awaits the new coalition government that will be formed in Turkey. The new government will either insist on participating in the axis of evil and endanger everyone in the region, or make peace with Kurds and work towards stability in the region. These are the two options, and the developments are heated enough to burn anyone who misreads them.

*This piece by Kurdish journalist Amed Dicle was translated from Turkish by ANF English service.