Gêlo Îsa, 3rd from left
Gelo Isa is a well-known politician and a senior official of the Kurdish Democratic Party (PDKS) in Kobane. He has been inside Kobane since the first day of the conflict and wounded seriously in the fight against ISIS. We wanted to get his perspective about the situation in Kobane.
Mutlu Civiroglu https://twitter.com/mutludc
Mr. Isa it has been left over a period of two months behind resistance against the ISIS in Kobane. In the latest news the Kurds have been taken advantageous position. What can you tell us about the life in Kobane?
I can easily say that the advantage in conflict zone that the power into the hands of Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). They are able to do any action in all fronts. YPG can easily repel any attacks, In case of any exceeding by the ISIS. Kobane resistance has left two months behind it, as we observe ISIS has suffered a great loss of morale, they have disputes among themselves. On one hand YPG is attacking them. On the other hand peshmergas are attacking them with heavy artillery canons and weapons. They are trying to get out of this the circle of fire that they got into. Recently in the eastern, western and southern front YPG took back many neighborhoods that were previously occupied by the ISIS.
You said that ISIS had fell into a circle of the fire. You mentioned that the strong ISIS has strong morale loss. What happened, what has changed that the advantageous had passed into hands of YPG?
When ISIS was starting to attack it had a large number of militants and had heavy weapons. During the remaining time that they had no more heavy weapons, thousands of its militants have been killed in Kobane. In this way they experience depression. When the fighter loses the morale in the battlefield, they cannot fight anyway. ISIS Emirates orders when they go anywhere, it had become accustomed to take that place or seize the place within a few hours under their control. They encounter the resistance from YPJ and YPG, previously beheading the children, burning houses with heavy weapons, were releasing fear and moving ahead. But they could not achieve in Kobane that what. That means the resistance in Kobane broke the morale of ISIS.
Today we have FSA groups among; dozens of them were martyred while fighting alongside YPG in Kobane. Again, when peshmerga forces became a part of resistance and the airstrike of the US led coalition has defied all their plans. Kurdish problem passed through Kobane and Rojava, the Syrian Kurdistan, and it has since become an international problem. All these elements have become a great morale for YPG in Kobane, and it put the ISIS to fall into a circle of fire.
Although it has lost so why ISIS still does not retreat? On what aims their insistence in Kobane, what do you think?
Villages outside Kobane, or Sirin, Jarablus, Manbij, Tal Abyad, in case of defeat, the emirs and the militants, their command orders and prınces title will be loosing. According to their war of this case, i.e. when an emir [prince] is defeated, that means he will lose “blessed virgins, concubines etc.”, and other privileges would not remain. This is the main reason they are continue to fight despite they inflict very heavy loses.
A second thing that if the victory to be achieved against ISIS in Kobane is a victory for all Syrian land to be acquired. If ISIS defeated totally in Kobane, they will lose half of its power. It’s very well known by everyone that ISIS has seized many territories in a short period of time without any serious losses. However, the resistance shown in Kobane by YPG would be an example for every city in Syria and Iraq after this time that ISIS is defeatable. That is the reason that ISIS fights until its last militant, and do not give up in Kobane. But Kobane has entered in a new era. YPG fighters have slowly surrounded Kobane, both inside and outside the city, and cut he supply routes for ISIS. Reinforcements coming from neighboring ISIS cities will also be targeted by YPG and more of their fighters will be killed. In this way we are hoping to finish ISIS in Kobane and clean the city from them.
What percentage of the city estimated is currently under the ISIS hand?
A portion of about 20-25% of the currently under the control of ISIS, this part is in the section of the South east of Kobane. If we will capture the Mishtenur Hill completely, less than 10% of the area will remain under the control of ISIS, Mishtenur Hill has a strategic importance; it oversees the entire Kobane. When we will be able to get the other side of Kobane, we will be able to drive ISIS away from Kobane.
We as the people of Kobane thank to freedom and peace defenders all over the world, to the United States of America and other countries in the coalition. We also thank to the 42 countries and their people the rallies held and people walk for Kobane and YPG.
Every country of human rights defenders, every civil society organizations, every human rights organization should support us because Kobane is fighting for the whole world. The success to be obtained in Kobane against the terror would be the success of the all countries that are fighting against the terrorism as terrorism does not recognize the boundaries.
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