Although the ISIS attack on Hesekê seems to be targeting regime forces, its main goal was to stop the YPG/YPJ advance on Raqqa and Cerablus. The gangs aimed to invade Hesekê just like they took control of Mosul, but YPG/YPJ prevented this attempt.

Hesekê is the biggest city in Rojava Kurdistan and is significant for its diverse population composed of different peoples. Assyrians from Mosul and Mardin, Armenians who had escaped the Armenian Genocide, and Arabs who settled in the city as part of Arab Belt policies live in Hesekê. Kezwan Mountain to the southeast and Kew Kep Hill to the east of Hesekê serve as natural walls protecting Cizîrê canton. Hool district to the south and Şeddadê district to the east have the richest oil reserves of the canton, and are currently under ISIS occupation.

HOW WAS THE ATTACK PREPARED?

Turkish media and Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) related Arab media covered YPG/YPJ fighters’ Commander Rubar Qamışlo Initiative, which liberated Kezwan Mountain and its surroundings, as “looting and ethnic cleansing” in a manipulative manner. These coverage’s aimed to defame the YPG/YPJ forces that liberated Girê Spî and enable ISIS to mobilize Arab people in the region. Syrian regime’s sectarian policies contributed to this ISIS effort as the transfer of Alevis from Hesekê to Lazkiye enabled ISIS to mobilize Arabs in Hesekê.

ANTI-KURDISH MUGANNAINS

An anti-Kurdish group affiliated with the regime called Mugannains was organized since the beginning of Rojava Revolution, and attacked civilians in neighborhoods under YPG/YPJ control on January 17. Mugannains attacked the Asayiş post in Xışman and killed 8 Asayiş forces, which served as a declaration of the group’s anti-Kurdish stance. This group also forced the Kurds in Eziziyê neighborhood to migrate and deepened the Alevi-Sunni divide in Syria. The group was initially led by Iran-affiliated Ahmet Helle, and began to take more initiative within regime forces. At the end of June 2015, ISIS took control of Xezil checkpoint, Panorama village, Sekin Şebap, and Neşwa and Wiran neighborhoods that had been previously controlled by Mugannains. Mugannains switched sides in the civil war and evacuated these areas, especially Neşwa and Wiran neighborhoods, to enable a smooth ISIS takeover.

YPG/YPJ HAVE THE INITIATIVE NOW

YPG/YPJ forces created a defense circle of 20 km which both protected Kurdish neighborhoods and stopped the ISIS advance. YPG/YPJ have the initiative now and took back Eziziyê neighborhood, Mekenit Zîraa, streategic Xezil Junction, and Maruf and Hamra villages on the Hool road from the gangs. Arab and Assyrian people managed to go to Cizirê canton with the help of this defense circle.

REGIME IS NOT THE MAIN TARGET

Although the ISIS attack on Hesekê seems to be targeting regime forces, its main goal was to stop the YPG/YPJ advance on Raqqa and Cerablus. The gangs aimed to invade Hesekê just like they took control of Mosul, but YPG/YPJ prevented this attempt. ISIS even lost some of the areas that they had taken from regime forces to YPG/YPJ fighters, who now control the road to oil rich city of Hool after their liberation of Maruf and Hamra villages.

Hesekê has been the center of clashes and goes through a critical period. After the regime’s abandoning of the town, YPG/YPJ fighters seem to be the only force that can defend all peoples here and in the rest of Rojava.