1. Öcalan urges the government to act quickly
22 July 2013 / ANFKurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan called on the government to act quickly in the ongoing democratic solution process, said the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) headquarters in a statement it released following BDP delegation's visit to İmralı yesterday. During the visit with BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and parliamentary group deputy chair Pervin Buldan in İmralı prison on Sunday, the Kurdish leader complaint about having restricted opportunities to provide more contribution to the peace process. Öcalan urged the government to create an opportunity that should enable him to express himself better and said “When there is such a fire around Turkey, my demand to fulfill my role on the resolution process in a better way should be considered as a natural request”, he underlined and suggested that he could also provide remarkable contributions to the process by holding a press conference on the island with an aim to directly inform the public about the ongoing process.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/ocalan-urges-the-government-to-act-quickly.htm
2. Long-Awaited Kurdish National Conference to Take Place in Erbil Next Month
22 July 2013 / RudawA long-awaited National Conference aimed at assembling all Kurdish political parties in the Middle East is due to be held in Erbil next month.
The meeting is to mainly focus on the situation of Kurds in Syria and Turkey who are facing major political developments, with Syrian Kurds contemplating autonomy for their areas and Kurds in Turkey in the middle of a historical peace process with Ankara.
Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, who has sent invitations to all Kurdish groups in the region, is seen as the driving force behind the conference.
“On behalf of myself, Jalal Talabani, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and Abdulla Ocalan, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader, I ask you to send your high level delegations to participate in the National Kurdish Conference,” Barzani’s invitation reads.
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/23072013
3. Kurdish National Conference to gather within a month
23 July 2013 / Kurdish InstituteThe committee of the preliminary meeting of the Kurdish National Conference, which took place in Hewler yesterday, agreed on the gathering of the Conference within a month. The preliminary meeting in the city of Selahaddin was attended by representatives of 39 political parties and institutions from all four parts of Kurdistan.
The meeting started with the opening speech of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani who greeted the attendees on behalf of YNK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) leader Jalal Talabani and Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan. Barzani also called attention to the importance of some strategical issues for the practice of congress works with success.
http://kurdishinstitute.be/english/human_rights/7989-kurdish-national-conference-to-gather-within-a-month.html
4. Pan-Kurdish congress planned to unify ranks amid regional turmoil
23 July 2013 / ReutersKurds from Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria have agreed to convene a pan-Kurdish congress to tackle historical divisions and position themselves to take full advantage of regional upheaval. Often described as the world's largest ethnic group without a state of their own, Kurds regard the modern borders that have carved up their homeland of "Greater Kurdistan" as a historical injustice. Geopolitics may have condemned the Kurds to live in four different countries, but their own competing ideologies and partisan rivalries have also got in the way of greater unity, and even led to armed conflict. Representatives of 39 Kurdish parties attended a symbolic meeting in the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region on Monday, though any joint initiatives, let alone the political or institutional unity that some dream of, are still a long way off.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/23/us-kurds-congress-idUSBRE96M0NA20130723
5. Turkish gov’t makes last touch on Kurdish peace bid
24 July 2013 / HurriyetThe government intends to finalize works on a democratization package that would include some measures to meet the demands of Kurds as part of an ongoing resolution process in a bid to protect its peace bid from collapsing, according to senior officials.
Some activities of the Kurdish militants in Southeast Anatolia are part of a psychological war and are aimed at showing that they are still powerful and can hit back if the process fails, according to the government. “We have concluded our initial work. We’ll work again on Thursday, probably after the iftar at an open-ended meeting, and we will put in the last word. Then it will be submitted for our prime minister’s discretion. Some legal amendments will be brought to Parliament in October upon his approval, which I believe will be positively received,” Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told Ankara bureau chiefs late July 23.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-govt-makes-last-touch-on-kurdish-peace-bid.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51358&NewsCatID=338
6. Turkish journalists fired over coverage of Gezi Park protests
23 July 2013 / The IndependentAt least 22 journalists have been fired and 37 forced to quit over their coverage of the Gezi Park protests, the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) has claimed.
The Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman quoted Gökhan Durmu of the TGS saying that the job losses came as a result of media coverage of the protests. They started in late May with a small group of environmentalists staging a protest against a commercial development in Istanbul, and grew into nationwide demonstrations in which thousands expressed anti-government sentiments. The protests in Istanbul were met with tear gas and water cannons.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkish-journalists-fired-over-coverage-of-gezi-park-protests-8727133.html
7. 24 July Anti-Censorship Day: 64 journalists under arrest in Turkey
24 July 2013 / Info TurkThere are 64 journalists under arrest and another 123 are facing trial on charges of terrorism, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has announced, with the party’s leader underlining that Turkey ranks 154th out of 179 countries in media freedom. CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu released the outcome of the party’s research into all journalists that have been facing prosecution, presenting the “Report on Imprisoned Journalists” today at a press conference at the party’s headquarters. Kılıçdaroğlu also referred to the Turkey Journalists’ Labor Union’s (TGS) July 22 assessment that 59 journalists had been removed from post for their news reports on the Gezi Park unrest.
http://www.info-turk.be/419.htm#64
8. RSF: Turkey now 154th in world press freedom index
24 uly 2013 / Info TurkTurkey experienced a fall among the ranks of the Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom index, falling to 154th on the list, which was topped for the second year in a row by Finland. The organization stated that Turkey, a country of “political importance” amid the Syrian conflict, was “currently the world’s biggest prison for journalists.” The country suffered a six-slot fall, plummeting from 148th to 154th.
The report further targeted Turkey for failing to live up to its regional model aspirations “despite a varied and lively media” presence in the country. The Turkish state was criticized for pursuing “a paranoia about security, which has a tendency to see every criticism as a plot hatched by a variety of illegal organizations.”
http://www.info-turk.be/419.htm#154th
9. Freedom of Turkish Journalists Congress a ‘Magnificent Show of Solidarity’, say IFJ/EFJ
25 July 2013 / International Federation of JournalistsThe International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) today hailed the second congress of the Campaign for Freedom of Turkish Journalists held yesterday in Istanbul as a magnificent show of solidarity between Turkish journalists and press freedom and civil rights organisations in opposition to the crackdown by the Turkish government on journalists. The congress, organised by the Journalists' Freedom Platform including two IFJ affiliates in Turkey - the Turkish Journalists' Syndicate (TGS) and the Progressive Journalists' Association - in conjunction with a wide platform of concerned groups brought together representatives of international organisations (IFJ, EFJ, IPI, IPA, PEN, CPJ, SEEMO AND RSF) as well as Turkish journalists, editors, politicians, press freedom and civil rights organisations and families of imprisoned journalists.
http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/congress-of-campaign-for-freedom-of-journalists-a-magnificent-show-of-solidarity-say-ifj-efj
10. Police attack demo in solidarity with Rojava
20 July 2013 / ANFPolice in Şırnak's Cizre district attacked the celebration organized by Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) district organization to mark the first anniversary of the Rojava revolution in western Kurdistan. The celebration in the Sur neighborhood started with a concert during which a group of YDG-H (Movement of Patriotic and Revolutionary Youth) staged a torch march to the area, carrying the posters of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan and flags of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). Police attacked the people in the area during the speech of BDP Cizre chair Baki Katar's speech, using intense pressure water and tear gas. Youths responded to the police attack, which came without any warning, with stones and fireworks.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/police-attack-demo-in-solidarity-with-rojava.htm
11. First Kurdish teachers await appointments following graduation
20 July 2013 / HurriyetFive hundred graduates from the Kurdish Department of the Living Languages Institute at Mardin’s Artuklu University are awaiting their maiden appointments as Kurdish teachers in what is set to be a first in Turkey. The graduates have expressed hopes that necessary arrangements will be made so that they can fulfill their aim of becoming full-time teachers. Kurdish became an optional class in secondary schools in September last year. The numbers of classes in which Kurdish will be taught is expected to rise with new students who will start secondary school this year.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/first-kurdish-teachers-await-appointments-following-graduation-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51089&NewsCatID=341
12. BDP urges Turkish government for indiscriminate aid
25 July 2013 / HurriyetThe Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has called for the government to effect immediate aid to Syria, stressing that Kurdish northern Syria is experiencing a critical “humanitarian crisis situation” and faces the dire risks of contagious disease and famine. The BDP, in a statement released yesterday by party headquarters, urged immediate and indiscriminate assistance to the area. The party has stated that food, medicine and hygiene supplements must be immediately transferred to those in need, irrespective of bureaucratic and political obstacles. “Kurds and Arabs from Turkey can no longer stand by the situation of their relatives and the insensitivity of the AKP [the ruling Justice and Development Party] government,” the statement read.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/bdp-urges-turkish-government-for-indiscriminate-aid.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51436&NewsCatID=338
13. KCK: Turkey behind the attacks on Serekaniye
18 July 2013 / ANFKurdish Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council Co-Presidency has released a statement to mark the anniversary of the Rojava Revolution which began after the Kurdish people seized the control of Kobani in western Kurdistan on 19 July 2012. KCK said the Rojava revolution was the success of a century-year-old longing and 40-year-old struggle of the Kurdish people. KCK remarked that Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan had without a doubt made great efforts for the realization of the Rojava revolution by laying its foundations during the twenty years he spent there with the people.
http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/kck-turkey-behind-the-attacks-on-serekaniye.htm#.UeftBEl1cJI.twitter
14. NGO: Syria Kurds make rapid advances in north
23 July 2013 / Al ArabiyaSyrian Kurds made rapid advances in the north on Tuesday, expelling jihadists from a string of villages, as mistrust between Kurds and Arabs grows, a watchdog and activists said. Fighting hit a series of ethnically mixed villages in the northern province of Raqa on the border with Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Kurdish fighters expelled jihadists from several villages around the majority Kurdish town of Cobany, the watchdog said. In the village of Jalbeh they captured jihadist emir Abu Raad and several of his men, it added. In Hasakeh province further east, Kurdish-jihadist fighting raged for a seventh day in the Jal Agha area and other parts of the majority Kurdish province. The latest clashes come a week after fighters loyal to the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG) expelled the jihadist Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from the strategic Kurdish town of Ras al-Ain in Hasakeh province.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/07/23/NGO-Syria-Kurds-make-rapid-advances-in-north-.html
15. Syria Kurds overrun villages, expel jihadists: NGO
23 July 2013 / Fox NewsSyrian Kurds made rapid advances in the north of the country Tuesday, expelling jihadists from several villages, as a gulf of mistrust between Arabs and Kurds grew, a watchdog and activists said. Tuesday's fighting hit several villages including Yabseh, Kandal and Jalbeh, which lie in the northern province of Raqa on Syria's border with Turkey and are home to a mixture of ethnic and religious communities, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It also reported that the Kurds expelled the jihadists from Kur Hassu, Atwan, Sarej and Khirbet Alu villages in the same area, which lies near the majority Kurdish town of Cobany.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/07/23/syria-kurds-overrun-villages-expel-jihadists-ngo/
16. Kurdish autonomy in Syria alarms Turkey
22 July 2013 / HurriyetTwo days after the capture of the Syrian border post of Turkey near the town of Rasulayn on July 17, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria declared that all Kurdish-populated towns in the country had been liberated on the “first anniversary of their autonomy.” Right across from Rasulayn there lies its Turkish twin town of Ceylanpınar, where Turkish officials and reporters could easily see the raising of the flag of the PYD. The flag bears close resemblance to the flag of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging an armed campaign for the last three decades in Turkey. The PYD is also known to be the “PKK in Syria.”
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kurdish-autonomy-in-syria-alarms-turkey.aspx?pageID=449&nID=51132&NewsCatID=409
17. Syrian Kurds Reassure Turkey
22 July 2013 / Al MonitorThe wresting of the strategic border town of Ras al-Ain on July 19 by a Syrian Kurdish militia from jihadist groups has prompted worries in Turkey that the Kurds of Syria are following in the footsteps of their brethren in Northern Iraq and are heading toward self-rule. But the chairman of the group known as the Democratic Union Party (PYD) told Al-Monitor that Turkey has “nothing to fear.” Speaking via Skype, Salih Muslim asserted, “We have no intention of breaking away from Syria, nor of setting up a federal entity along the lines of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Northern Iraq.”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/syrian-kurds-reassure-turkey.html
18. Kurds cement power in war on Turkish border
21 July 213 / HurriyetClashes between Islamist rebel forces and Kurdish fighters spread to a second Syrian province on July 20, activists said, as factional tensions rose in the north of the country. People’s Defense Units (YPG), the militant wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front have been engaged in a fight for almost a week in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, near the Turkish border town of Ceylanpınar. The new round of fighting broke out in Tel Abyad, a border town near Turkey in the rebel-held Raqqa province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes began after Kurdish fighters in the area discovered fighters from an al Qaeda-linked rebel group trying to rig one of their bases with explosives.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kurds-cement-power-in-war-on-turkish-border.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51150&NewsCatID=352
19. Syrian Kurds Consolidate In Clashes on Turkish Border
18 July 2013 / Al MonitorPopular Protection Units belonging to the Western Kurdistan Council took control of the city of Ras al-Ain, including its border crossing with Turkey, following clashes with fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, as well as those belonging to Jabhat al-Nusra. This is at a time when the president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria, Saleh Mousallem, told Al-Hayat that Kurdish leaders were discussing a plan to establish “local elected administrations that would govern areas with a Kurdish majority until matters quieted down in Syria.” Popular Protection forces and opposition militants had, with the help of opposition political figures, reached an agreement at the beginning of this year to end clashes between the two sides in Ras al-Ain. The agreement, which stipulated the withdrawal of all militants from both sides and the formation of a joint local council, proved to be “fragile.”
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/07/syria-kurds-solidify-administration-clashes-ras-al-ain.html#ixzz2ZTYGU2PM
20. PYD announces constitution for Kurdish regions
22 July 2013 / KurdpressThe pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) announced on Sunday articles of its constitution for Syria Kurdish regions, after seizing control of most of the regions.
Released in Arabic, the constitution called Syria a dependent country with a democratic parliament federal system and “Western Kurdistan,” with Qamishlo as its capital, is a part of the country. Kurdish and Arabic are the official languages of Kurds- controlled autonomous regions and self-ruling units will protect Syrian borders against foreign intervention. The Kurdish autonomous region will make its internal decision and would be self-ruling. The autonomous government would be run by a man or a woman with 21 ministers appointed by the parliament. Interior, Finance, Judiciary, Tourism and Environment, Human’s Right, Culture, Electricity and Defense are some of the ministries of the region.
http://tinyurl.com/ms66j8n
21. Syria: Kurds reportedly released by kidnappers linked to Al Qaeda
21 July 2013 / LA TimesA rebel group in Syria with links to Al Qaeda was reported Sunday to have released hundreds of kidnapped Kurdish civilians after clashes with Kurdish militiamen that reflected the increasingly open hostility among armed factions in rebel-held parts of Syria. The release of the abducted Kurds follows battles this weekend in the northern Syrian town of Tal Abyad, along the Syrian-Turkish border, pitting Kurdish forces against fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a powerful Syrian rebel faction that has ties to Al Qaeda.
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syria-kurds-released-20130721,0,4957762.story
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
22. Turkish-Kurdish ‘Peace Process’: Another Betrayal? Hiwa Zandi
19 July 2013 / Kurdish InstituteThe unfolding ‘peace process’ between the Turkish government and PKK, resonated hope in Turkey and international community to finally bring an end to the decades old Turkish-Kurdish conflict.
While Kurds have embraced the initiative, most are suspicious of the Turkish government’s true intention. There are concerns that the Turkish political establishment may not act on its promises under the peace process. This emanates partly from the past experiences of Turkish deceit of Kurds in the 1920s and partly from the current Turkish military’s inconsistent measures that are incongruent with the undergoing rapprochement.
http://kurdishinstitute.be/english/human_rights/7982-turkish-kurdish-%E2%80%98peace-process%E2%80%99-another-betrayal-hiwa-zandi.html
23. No 'tangible moves' on Turkish-Kurdish peace
25 July 2013 / DWAfter the PKK called for a ceasefire with Turkey in March, fighters withdrew to northern Iraq as part of a peace bid with Ankara. DW spoke to Sabri Ok, chief executive member of the Kurdish umbrella organization KCK.
DW: What's your assessment of the peace process?Sabri Ok: The process is walking on just one foot and that's hardly possible. We hope that (Turkey's) AKP government will assume its responsibilities but, so far, we have seen no sign of good will. This is a process of three stages: the first one included key decisions such as the ceasefire declaration and the withdrawal of our forces. Now we should be moving to the second stage of the process in which Ankara should fulfil the agreement but we have seen no tangible moves yet.
http://www.dw.de/no-tangible-moves-on-turkish-kurdish-peace/a-16966355
24. Turkish prime minister courts Kurds in bid to establish strong presidency
24 July 2013 / PRIAfter decades of conflict, the Turkish government and Kurds are finally sitting down to talk. All agree a new constitution is needed. Kurdish politician Hayri Atesh says Kurds simply want equal rights. “The definition of citizenship needs to be rewritten,” he said. “State institutions should not treat Kurds differently because of their ethnic identity. The definition of Turkish citizen in the constitution needs to include everyone equally.”
The new constitution, though, could come at a price. In return for new Kurdish rights, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to demand that Kurdish politicians support a change in presidential powers. Erdoğan has called the current separation of state powers an “obstacle to Turkey’s development.”
http://www.pri.org/stories/politics-society/government/turkish-prime-minister-courts-kurds-in-bid-to-establish-strong-presidency-14489.html
25. Erdogan puts Turkish policymakers in dilemma
21 July 2013 / ReutersWith a powerful prime minister bent on pumping up growth ahead of elections but a sliding currency and rising borrowing costs, Turkish policymakers are caught between a rock and a hard place. Rattled by weeks of anti-government protests and with a peace initiative for Kurdish militants looking increasingly fragile, the last thing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan needs with an election cycle starting next year is an economic slowdown. His rhetoric has become increasingly populist in recent weeks, vowing to "choke" speculators who he said were growing rich off "the sweat of the people", and blaming a "high interest rate lobby" for seeking to undermine Turkey's growth prospects.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/21/uk-turkey-economy-idUKBRE96K05820130721
26. Turkey’s dilemma with Syrian Kurdish forces
21 July 2013 / Al ArabiyaTurkey has been watching with deep concern as Kurdish militants have been slowly consolidating power in areas bordering Turkey in northern Syria and preparing to declare their own autonomous state.
To mark the one year anniversary of the capture of northern Syria, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) – a Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – is preparing to declare an autonomous state in northern Syria, ringing alarm bells among officials in Ankara. As part of this plan, forces loyal to the PYD staged attacks on strategic Syrian town of Ras al-Ain on the Turkish border, just opposite to Turkey’s Ceylanpınar, and largely took control of the town following days of fierce fighting with al-Qaeda affiliate radical groups.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2013/07/22/Turkey-s-dilemma-with-Kurds-in-Syria.html
27. Turkey ‘Concerned’ as Kurds Oust al-Qaeda From Syrian Border Town
18 July 2013 / AntiwarTurkey’s Foreign Ministry has issued concern today after overnight fighting in the Syrian border town of Ras al-Ayn led to local Kurdish fighters ousting al-Qaeda-backed rebels from the area. The fighters from the Democratic Union Party (PYD) clashed with Jabhat al-Nusra fighters around the border area throughout the day Wednesday, with stray bullets crossing into Turkey and locals in the town of Ceylanpinar staying indoors as fighting raged in neighboring Syria. The Turkish government’s reaction was harshly critical of the PYD, which it dubbed “separatist terrorists,” while Turkish officials have been supporting al-Nusra openly, despite the group’s overt ties with al-Qaeda’s leadership. Clearly “terrorism” isn’t a problem for the Erdogan government.
http://news.antiwar.com/2013/07/18/turkey-concerned-as-kurds-oust-al-qaeda-from-syrian-border-town/
28. “The Syrian revolution is a baby – it needs nourishment”
18 July 2013 / New StatesmanWe're in Ma'arrat al Numan, a front-line liberated town in Idlib province, Syria. Once home to 120,000, the population is now between 4-10,000. Families who couldn't afford to flee live in ruins, makeshift shelters and even caves. Destruction is everywhere; piles of rubble daunt the streets between bomb-axed minarets and burnt out shops. Part-collapsed apartment blocks reveal gaping living rooms. Shelling echoes daily from the Wadi Deif regime military base close by. It's mostly local Free Army fighters holding the line, along with Ahrar al Sham, and Jabhat al Nusra playing a smaller role. The scant weaponry ranges from regime-raided machine and hand guns to the "Cannon of Hell" – a launcher made out of a tractor, with cooking gas canisters for missiles. The city's sub-station, water plants and pipes have all been destroyed. Repairing the pipes is impossible due to their proximity to Wadi Deif.
http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/07/syria-our-revolution-baby-it-needs-nourishment
29. YPG Commander: Kurds Are Bulwark Against Islamic Extremism in Syria
22 July 2013 / RudawSipan Hemo, commander of the controversial People’s Defense Units (YPG) in Syria, is adamant: “We are not a military wing of any party,” he says in an interview with Rudaw. Hemo denies that the militia is part of the dominant Democratic Union Party (PYD), which has taken control of Syria’s Kurdish areas and has friendly ties with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PYD has been accused by some of shady ties with the Damascus regime, and of heavy-handed rule over the Kurdish regions. Hemo, whose fighters have been recently involved in deadly clashes with the radical Islamic Jabhat al-Nusra, says that Turkey has nothing to fear from the YPG units. “We see radical Islam as a threat not only to ourselves, but also to the Turkish people and the world as well,” he insists. Here is his interview.
http://rudaw.net/english/interview/22072013
30. Syrian Kurds Reject SNC, Al-Qaeda
22 July 2013 / Al MonitorFighting erupted on July 17 between jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda and Kurdish fighters close to the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the province of Hassakeh in northern Syria. The fighting was sparked by an incident at a checkpoint of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jahbat al-Nusra in the mixed city of Ras al-Ain, where Arabs, Kurds, and Christians live, close to the Turkish border. The fighting was still taking place today, July 22. It was most likely sparked by the fact that the Democratic Union Party (PYD) wants to form an interim government, while al-Qaeda affiliates such as Jahbat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham (ISIS) want to form an Islamic emirate in Syria.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/syrian-kurds-reject-snc-al-qaeda.html
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