Media is being flooded with news in Syria. The Syrian refugee crisis has become a global issue, and ISIS is growing threat. The U.S is supporting the Kurd’s in the fight agaisnt ISIS which has raised some concerns with other American allies. So who are the Kurd’s and how do they relate to the conflict? I highly recommend reading this New York Times article; it organizes and explains the conflict very efficiently with some helpful diagrams that I unfortunately cannot attach here.
The Syrian War according to an ignorant 18 year old,
The Civil War in Syria is between the Syrian Government, backed by allies such as Russia and Iran, and the Rebel groups, backed by allies such as the United States and Turkey. However, at the same time the U.S has declared war against ISIS which is also an adversary to the Syrian government. The U.S has been using Kurdish forces as its main resource in fighting ISIS; however, tense relations exist among the Kurd’s and Turkey (an American ally in both the fight against ISIS and the Syrian Civil War). Relationships are also tense among the rebel fighters in Syria as well as the Syrian government.
As you can see it is a bit of a mess. So if you are confused please go read the attached article above! My question for today is who are the Kurd’s and why do so many middle eastern countries mistrust/dislike them?
The Kurd’s
Kurd’s make up the 4th largest group in the Middle east, yet they have no nation state. They come form an indigenous Mesopotamian people and form today a distinctive community. When the Ottoman empire fell after world war 1 plans were made to create a Kurdistan; however, with the Treaty of Lausanne, which set the boundaries of modern Turkey, no provision for a Kurdish state were made leaving Kurds with minority status in their respective countries. Over the next 80 years all attempts by the Kurds to create their own nation state have been brutally squashed mostly at the hands of the Turks. For more information check out this article.
Fighting between Turkey and the Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK) has been going on since the late 70s, with the PKK wanting a independent state in Turkey. The Kurds fighting in Syria (YPG) against ISIS have won allies such as the U.S but Turkey fears that the YPG is only an extension of the PKK. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist group by the EU and the US but the YPG is not.The YPG however has said that like the PKK that would like an independent state for Kurds. Thus you can see why the Turks and other heavily populated Kurdish countries are not too pleased at the military backing they are now receiving from the US. For more information check out this article.
So as you can see it is a mess of allies and enemies. The U.S and Turkey both are fighting ISIS and support rebels in Syria, the U.S likes the Kurd’s because they do a good job fighting ISIS, but the Syrian Rebels,Syrian Government and Turkey do not like them because they are trying to become their own state. And then of course there is Russia that likes neither the Syrian Rebels or ISIS, so in one battle they are on the U.S side and in another they are the Syrian Governments side. Basically a lot of different chaotic fighting. So like I said before, if you are confused I highly recommend checking out the attached article as well as the other two attached articles about the Kurds.
theboatpeopleblog 