ROJAVA – The Iraqi army has been attacking Sinjar for several days with the support of the PDK in order to defeat the Sinjar Autonomous Administration and the Sinjar Defense Forces, which was formed after the ISIS attacks on August 3, 2014, when the Iraqi army and The PDK fled and left Sinjar in front of an order.
The head of the YPG Communication Center, Siyamend Eli, was one of the first fighters to reach Sinjar with the attacks on 3 August 2014. He spoke to our agency and stated that their forces had paid a heavy price for the defense of Sinjar. “The defense of Sinjar means the protection of all religions, faiths, ethnicities and ethnic groups in the Middle East. The YPG and YPJ defend the sanctity of the Middle East by defending Sinjar.”
Siyamend Ali stated that if new attacks are carried out on Sinjar, their units are not ready to respond to the call of the people of Sinjar and continued: “Today we see that Iraqi forces and the PDK have launched attacks on Sinjar to bring it down. History has witnessed how Iraqi and PDK forces deceived the people of Sinjar during the ISIS attacks and became their blood-sucking partners. “By what right does the PDK attack the people of Sinjar?”
Why did YPG went to Sinjar during the ISIS attacks of August 3, 2014?
August 2014 was one of the most difficult stages to go through in the West. There was fighting from Derik to Kobanê, to the areas of Şehba and Efrîn. The ISIS gangs carried out brutal attacks on Kurdish areas at that time, but the YPG and YPJ resisted with a heroic resistance.
On August 3, 2014, there were heavy attacks in the area of Ceza and Til Koçer and we were there. It is reported that Sinjar is under siege and ISIS gangs are carrying out heavy attacks on Sinjar. According to the initial information we received, there were many casualties, but we did not know exactly what was happening there. As far as we know, Sinjar is protected by the Iraqi army and the government of South Kurdistan. But according to the information we have, the people of Sinjar are going through genocide. With it the General Command of the YPG and YPJ gave the perspective that the fighters should move closer to the border near Sinjar. I was in the first group to arrive in Sindh.
When we moved from Rojava to Sindh, we were in the defense phase. Because ISIS was attacking hard. But after the information about Sinjar came, all the fighters decided to surrender to Sinjar. A fierce battle took place between YPJ / YPG and ISIS gangs while we were in Sinjar. As a result many of our friends were martyred, especially in the area of Sinun, Xanasor and the road to Mount Sinai.
Why did we go to Sinjar before? The first is because of its people, the Kurdish people and they are by our side. Secondly, we are well aware of ISIS carrying out massacres when it enters an area. Thirdly, we did not want the people of Sinjar to go through another genocide. We did not want to enter Sinjar, because Sinjar is the basic and historical center of the Kurdish people with a history dating back thousands of years and is one of the oldest regions in the Middle East. ISIS also wanted to destroy the center of Kurdish history.
What did you see there when you arrived in Sindh? You remember that some information about the horrific massacres was obtained, do you remember different events?
One of the moments that never leaves my mind and life is that while I was crossing the border between Rojava and Sinjar, I saw scenes of genocide, citizens who lost their lives due to thirst and injury, children whose mothers were left behind, there were citizens who had lost their parents. Even some citizens threw themselves from the tops of the mountains, losing all the elements of life, ending their lives so as not to fall into the hands of ISIS and their dignity is not violated. They also left Sinjar to ISIS gangs after the forces defending Sinjar.
We could smell nothing but the smell of blood, we could hear nothing but the sound of screaming, we could see nothing but dust, fear and dread. I have never seen such a scene in my life, children lost their lives due to thirst on the ground, tens of kilometers of legs were cut off and the citizens of Sinjar were covered in blood.
When we reached the mountains of Sindh, thousands of people were there, waiting for a force to come to them. No forces other than the YPG and YPJ in the West and the guerrillas responded to their call.
When we arrived we immediately made the line of defense according to these two fronts, one front by the units and the other front by the HPG, to protect the remaining Sinhalese people there and then we responded to the attacks.
Who was in Sinjar, was the Iraqi army or PDK forces there?
When we arrived in Sinjar we did not see any forces there. Thousands of peshmerga were fleeing from Sinjar to Rojava. When the people of Sinjar, who numbered in the thousands, reached Rojava, our YPG and YPJ comrades helped them.
Did you witness that?
Well, I saw with my own eyes how they escaped, we gathered many of them at one point. There were wounded among them, there were frightened people and we took them to their points in the West.
When we went to Sinjar we saw many peshmergas fleeing. I still remember the speeches of some of them, he said; bring heavy weapons you can not do with ISIS other than heavy weapons. But ours as YPJ and YPG had no choice but to use grenades and hand grenades.
The weapons in the hands of the peshmerga were advanced and very modern, but because they had no will they left Sinjar, abandoned its people, its sheikh, his wife and children and fled.
Surprised and shocked, how did the women and children leave? How could the children not cry? How did they let that blood stay on the ground? How did these children, women, young people leave their place? How did they not give weapons to the people of Sinjar to defend themselves?
The defense of Sindh was a matter of wine, not weapons. How we got there and we fought against ISIS, how the HPG guerrillas cut thousands of kilometers and got there. Unfortunately, the Iraqi forces and the peshmerga forces, which had about 6,000 fighters and advanced weapons in their hands, could not defend a small geography like Sinjar.
To protect Sinjar and its people, our units stood with all their might against ISIS. We have set up a circle around the mountains of Sinjar to protect the people of Sinjar and respond to ISIS attacks. Our units and the HPG defended Sinjar and its people.
What did the YPG and YPJ save in Sinjar? How many thousands have been rescued or has the ancient culture of the Middle East whose history dates back thousands of years BZ been saved? Can we say YPG / YPJ saved a human legacy?
If we evaluate our trip to Sindh with the aim of protecting a village, a city or a lot it will be less. When we talk about Sinjar we are talking about decades of history. We are talking about the history of the Middle East, the origin of the Middle East starts from here, so we went to Sinjar.
When the enemy had already invaded Sinjar, they knew that the destruction of Sinjar was the destruction of the roots of the Middle East and the destruction of Sinjar was the destruction of the history of the region, so ISIS wanted to destroy Sinjar.
Indeed, we have made many sacrifices for the protection of Sinjar, because the protection of Sinjar means the protection of all religions, faiths and components of the Middle East, the YPG and YPJ defending the celebrations of the Middle East by protecting Sinjar.
As a fighter who went to Sinjar with a shout, what is your position and that of your YPJ and YPG comrades from the attack of the Iraqi army and the PDK?
Unfortunately, the Iraqi army and PDK forces fled Sinjar, which led to another massacre against the people of Sinjar. The whole world saw how the YPG / YPJ and the people of Rojava went to Sinjar and saved the Yezidis from the genocide.
Today we see that the Iraqi army and PDK forces have launched an attack on Sinjar, wanting to take control of Sinjar and finally bring an end to the YBŞ / YJŞ and the Sinjar Autonomous Administration, using heavy weapons in the attacks. History bears witness to how they left the people of Sinjar, collaborated in shedding the blood of the people of Sinjar, with what right the PDK is attacking Sinjar.
Dozens of YPG fighters were killed and wounded to defend Sinjar, we tell the people of Sinjar, it is true that we are not in Sinjar now and there are Sinjar security forces and the Sinjar Administration, but if Sinjar goes to another massacre we will be silent. do not stop and go to Sinhala again with a shout. We are always ready to defend Sinjar and its mountains, we do not want a war, the conflict must be resolved through diplomatic means. The Iraqi government must rise to its responsibilities towards the people of Sinjar, Sinjar is dependent on Iraq, the government must rise to its responsibilities and defend Sinjar not to attack it.
We as YPG fighters do not accept that Sinjar is really going to be a new attack, we will do whatever we are asked, how we defended our Yezidi community in 2014, we will defend it again.
When you were on duty in Sinjar, the people of Rojava on the other side of the border welcomed the people of Sinjar who had survived the massacres, what is your call for the people of Northern and Eastern Syria at this historic stage?
In August 2014, not only did the military rise to their responsibilities, the people of Northern and Eastern Syria in general rose to their responsibilities to protect the people of Sinjar, the people, institutions and organizations of Northern and Eastern Syria mobilized and pushed their limits.
Now we call on the people of North and East Syria and Kurdistan to stand up for the protection of Sinjar, we are aware of the agreements under the tables. Sinjar is a sacred place, worthy of its protection, the Kurdish people should know that the PDK is trying to encircle Sinjar and carry out new massacres against the people of Sinjar.
The people of Northern and Eastern Syria will no doubt stand by the people of Sinjar as they did in 2014.
