1. KCK: Non-conflict environment no longer exists
25 September 2014 / ANF
The KCK Executive Council has issued an important statement regarding the support provided by the Turkish state to ISIS gangs, the ‘process of democratic resolution’ launched by Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the imposition of withdrawal by the Turkish state. The KCK stressed that Öcalan and the Kurdish Freedom Movement had taken all possible steps for a democratic political resolution and had maintained the necessary sensitivity in order for these steps to yield a result, whereas the AKP government had from the outset not engaged with the resolution process.
http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/kck-non-conflict-environment-no-longer-exists.htm <http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/kck-non-conflict-environment-no-longer-exists.htm>
2. HDP delegation: Process is under serious strain
26 September 2014 / ANFIn a statement the HDP delegation has stated that the ‘process of resolution’ is under serious strain due to regional developments and the lack of steps towards negotiations. The delegation warned the government, saying that the meeting they will hold with Mr Öcalan in the coming days is of crucial importance.
The HDP delegation that visits Mr Öcalan has issued a statement regarding the process of resolution that is at breaking point on account of the AKP government’s failure to take steps and its support for ISIS.
http://en.firatnews.com/news/news/hdp-delegation-process-is-under-serious-strain.htm
3. Exclusive: PKK commander threatens to resume war
25 September 2014 / Al MonitorOn Sept. 24, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) issued a highly critical statement. In a nutshell, it said that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had “eliminated” the conditions of a mutually observed 18-month cease-fire between the PKK and the Turkish army. It said that, in response to “the AKP’s war against our people, our leadership council has decided to step up its struggle in every area and by all possible means.” I had heard similar words on Sept. 21 from Cemil Bayik, the top PKK commander in the field, during a three-hour meeting I had with him in a tent in the Kandil Mountains.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/turkey-pkk-commander-bayik-threatens-resume-war.html#ixzz3EQokidcv
4. Syrian Kurdistan's PYD leader: Kobani 'could face massacre' by IS jihadists
25 September 2014 / eKurdIslamic State in Iraq and Syria IS militants could carry out a massacre in the Kurdish city of Kobani in Syrian Kurdistan within hours, Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) Co-Chairman Salih Muslim has warned.In a press conference on Wednesday at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels, Muslim said that ISIS militants were just one kilometer away from Kobani and a massacre - similar to that which ISIS carried out in the Sinjar region of Syria last month in which more than 20,000 Yazidi Kurds are believed to have died - could take place within hours.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/9/syriakurd1381.htm
5. Kurd Leader Calls For Immediate Action on Islamic State
26 September 2014 / TelesurEven though the West is supposedly fighting the Islamic State, Washington is yet to turn its attention to the Kurdish Syrian city of Kobane as fighters desperately try stop IS on multiple fronts.
The co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Union Party, Saleh Muslim has issued an urgent call asking that NATO, EU and other organizations act immediately to prevent a genocide against the Kurds in Kobane.
“It seems that all international forces are decided on the fall of Kobane,” Muslim said.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Kurd-Leader-Calls-For-Immediate-Action-on-Islamic-State--20140926-0021.html
6. Turkey accused of colluding with Isis to oppose Syrian Kurds and Assad following surprise release of 49 hostages
21 September 2014 / IndependentMystery surrounds the surprise release of 49 Turkish diplomats and their families held captive for three months by Isis. The Turkish government is denying any deal with the hostage-takers, making it unclear why Isis, notorious for its cruelty and ruthlessness, should hand over its Turkish prisoners on Saturday without a quid pro quo. Hailed in Ankara as a triumph for Turkey, the freeing of the diplomats seized when Mosul fell to Isis on 10 June raises fresh questions about the relationship between the Turkish government and Isis. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the release is the result of a covert operation by Turkish intelligence that must remain a secret.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/turkey-accused-of-colluding-with-isis-to-oppose-syrian-kurds-and-assad-following-surprise-release-of-49-hostages-9747394.html
7. Fewer journalists in Turkish prisons, but new dangers ahead
24 September 2014 / The SparkAlthough there are still 23 journalists and media workers behind bars in Turkey, the lowest number for many years, journalists and other media activists are still being targeted by the authorities, the steering committee of the European Federation of Journalists heard last week. The fact that Turkey is no longer is the world’s leading jailer of journalists and other media workers has much to do with the campaigning within Turkey together with international solidarity action and support. Pressure for judicial reform has also led to the release of a number of journalists brought about by the 4th Judicial Package, which, amongst other things, limited the period of pre-trial detention to 5 years (still far too long).
http://www.thespark.me.uk/?p=668#more-668 <http://www.thespark.me.uk/?p=668%23more-668>
8. Turkey's Kurds turn on Erdogan amid border chaos
26 September 2014 / eKurdTurkish police in riot gear guard the Mursitpinar frontier post with Syria and army personnel carriers patrol nearby stretches of a border where Islamic State’s advance has opened new political fault-lines. Kurds are crossing it in both directions. Tens of thousands have fled to Turkey in the past 10 days as the militants seized their villages in Syrian Kurdistan [northern Syria]. Others are heading the opposite way to join the fight, and clashes broke out this week when the Turkish security forces tried to stop some of them.
http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/9/turkey5120.htm
9. Kobane Residents Remain Defiant as Islamic State Closes In
25 September 2014 / Vice NewsEvery day brings more news of the Islamic State's advance on Kobane. More villages seized, more injured, more dead. The northern Syrian city — also known by its Arabic name Ayn al-Arab — and its predominantly Kurdish population has been surrounded by IS militants for well over a year, but the extremist group launched a major offensive in the area last week, and now, the situation is grave. Local officials and activists told VICE News that IS has pushed forward to less than five miles from Kobane's outskirts and warn that if it falls, its remaining residents could be massacred.
https://news.vice.com/article/kobane-residents-remain-defiant-as-islamic-state-closes-in
10. Kurdish forces push back Islamic State in northern Syria
25 September 2014 / ReutersKurdish forces in northern Syria pushed back an advance by Islamic State fighters towards the border town of Kobani in overnight clashes, two Kurdish officials said on Thursday.
Islamic State launched a fresh offensive to try to capture Kobani more than a week ago after months of fighting. More than 100,000 Kurds have fled the town and surrounding villages, crossing over the nearby border into Turkey.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/25/uk-syria-crisis-kurds-idUKKCN0HK0QP20140925 <http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/25/uk-syria-crisis-kurds-idUKKCN0HK0QP20140925>
11. Thousands ignore border and join resistance in Kobanê
23 September 2014 / Kurdish InfoThousands of young people from Kobanê have ignored the border and returned to the town to join the resistance after leaving their families in Suruç on the Turkish side of the border.
The YPG resistance against ISIS gangs that have launched an onslaught on Kobanê is now a week old. People from North Kurdistan have maintained a solidarity action at the border for the last 4 days.
Despite attacks by Turkish soldiers that lasted all day, thousands of people crossed the border and returned to Kobanê yesterday, having left their families in Suruç.
http://www.kurdishinfo.com/thousands-ignore-border-join-resistance-kobane <http://www.kurdishinfo.com/thousands-ignore-border-join-resistance-kobane>
12. Kurds unite across borders to fight IS
24 September 2014 / CCTV AmericaAirstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition targeting the IS fighters in Syria are creating a border crisis with Turkey. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurdish refugees have fled into southern Turkey to escape IS terrorists, but many want to cross back into Syria to join the fight.
Some Syrian Kurds who have fled to Turkey want to return to Syria and join the battle against the IS. Many have no battle experience, but they do not want to stand by helpless as their homes are being torn apart.
http://www.cctv-america.com/2014/09/24/kurds-unite-across-borders-to-fight-is
13. Pentagon: F-22s used in combat for first time in Syria
23 September 2014 / Russia TodayThis week’s strike against Islamic State militants in Syria by the United States marked the first time that the Pentagon has deployed its F-22 Raptor jets into combat, the Defense Department acknowledged on Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. William Mayville, the director of ops for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged during a Department of Defense briefing on Tuesday morning that the strikes launched by the US hours earlier were the first ever to involve F-22s — a fifth-generation aircraft that’s capable of dropping precisions bombs on targets from 15 miles away.
http://rt.com/usa/189984-pentagon-f22-combat-first-syria/ <http://rt.com/usa/189984-pentagon-f22-combat-first-syria/>
14. Syrian Kurds 'halt ISIL push' near Turkey
22 September 2014 / Al JazeeraSyrian Kurdish fighters say they have stopped the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in northern Syria near the Turkish border.
The Kurdish forces engaged in heavy clashes with ISIL fighters on Monday, as the group laid siege on an area east of the city of Kobane in Aleppo province, a spokesman said.
More than 130,000 Syrian Kurds have fled across the border into Turkey, escaping the advance by ISIL, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said, warning that the number would probably rise.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/09/syrian-kurds-isil-kobane-201492285029457801.html<http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/09/syrian-kurds-isil-kobane-201492285029457801.html> 15. ‘Indiscriminate’ Iraqi Air Force Bombings Killing Civilians, Watchdog Says
26 September 2014 / Rudaw“Indiscriminate” Iraqi air force attacks meant to wipe out Islamic State forces have killed dozens of civilians, including 24 refugee children housed at a school near Tikrit at the start of this month, according to an international rights watchdog.
“This is not an isolated incident. We have documented a pattern of indiscriminate attacks from the air in which civilians have died,” Fred Abrahams, special advisor at New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), told Rudaw in a phone interview.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/26092014
COMMENT, OPINION AND ANALYSIS
17. Is Turkey finally ready to aid military strikes against ISIS?
25 September 2014 / CNNTurkey, a key U.S. ally and a NATO member that borders the territory captured by ISIS, which now calls itself the Islamic State, in Syria and Iraq, could play a critical role in the U.S.-led military assault against the jihadist group.
Ankara has the second-largest army in NATO and hosts an American airbase. Turkish forces could participate in the U.S.-led bombing, or Ankara could allow the United States to use the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey to stage the attacks.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/25/opinion/turkey-isis-strikes/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
18. Kobanê under siege: Kurds resist fierce IS attack
24 September 2014 / Roar MagÖcalan calls for mass mobilization as suspicions of Turkey’s support for the Islamic State rise and attacks on Kobane in Syrian Kurdistan continue.
For over a week the Kurdish town of Kobanê in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) has been under severe attack from the Islamic State (IS). The attack commenced on September 15, when thousands of IS fighters supported by dozens of tanks and heavy artillery attacked Kobanê on three fronts.
http://roarmag.org/2014/09/kobane-rojava-is-turkey/
19. Islamic State, Turkey and Syria’s Kurds: Murky relations
22 September 014 / The EconomistAS JIHADISTS calling themselves the "Islamic State" (IS) have swept across Iraq and Syria, they have come up against one unusually tough opponent. Syria's ethnic Kurds have stubbornly clung onto three separate enclaves along Syria's border with Turkey and even pushed back into lands captured by IS. Since September 18th IS has turned the tables, concentrating its forces for an all-out offensive to take the central enclave around the Syrian Kurdish-majority town of Ain al-Arab, known as Kobane in Kurdish, on the border with Turkey. IS sees the territory as strategic because it lies close to the edges of its "caliphate" and to a supply route used by foreign fighters joining the group. IS has grabbed scores of villages, pushing more than 100,000 Kurdish refugees into Turkey.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2014/09/islamic-state-turkey-and-syria-s-kurds<http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2014/09/islamic-state-turkey-and-syria-s-kurds>
20. Declare Western Kurdistan, the Rojawa, as a ‘Safe Haven’!
24 September 2014 / Kurdistan TribuneThe first non-violent demonstration against the Bashar Al-Assad regime started in late February 2011, more than 3.5 years ago. The people of Syria demanded more freedom and true political pluralism. However the path to more freedom now looks infinite with two hundred thousand casualties, many millions of displaced people, destroyed homes and infrastructure and tremendous material losses.
The West, which had old disputes with Damascus, had no choice but to support this growing displeasure among the Syrians against the regime. But USA and Europe made a big mistake when they gave control of the operation to Turkey.
http://kurdistantribune.com/2014/declare-western-kurdistan-rojawa-as-safe-haven/
21. The Iraqi Kurds: ISIS’ Nemesis and Globalists’ headache
25 September 2014 / Communities Digital NewsThe main story of the emergence of the Islamic State, though it has gained only sporadic attention in the corporate mass media, is the propagation of ISIS by the function of U.S. Foreign policy and the cooperation of our ‘allies’ among the Gulf states.
A compelling companion story to that,is the concurrent development of a firewall against the further spread of Salafist militants in the form of a fledgling quasi state, the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. Its story reveals that the U.S. and other actors in the Middle East, have done nothing to empower the Kurds to resist the bloodthirsty hordes of Islamic State terrorists, and in fact, until quite recently, acted as an impediment.
http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/tea-party/the-iraqi-kurds-isis-nemesis-and-globalists-headache-26646/#hTpOj7AmOGXtD144.99
22. The Fight of Their Lives
29 September 2014 / New YorkerThe White House wants the Kurds to help save Iraq from ISIS. The Kurds may be more interested in breaking away. On the evening of August 8th, Najat Ali Saleh, a former commander of the Kurdish army, was summoned to a meeting with Masoud Barzani, the President of the semiautonomous Kurdish region that occupies the northern part of Iraq. Barzani, a longtime guerrilla fighter, was alarmed. Twenty-four hours before, fighters with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) had made a huge incursion into the Kurds’ territory. They had overrun Kurdish forces in the western Iraqi towns of Sinjar and Makhmour, and had surged as far as Gwer, fifteen miles from the capital city of Erbil. At the Mosul Dam, on the Tigris River, they had seized the controls, giving them the ability to inundate Baghdad with fifteen feet of water.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/29/fight-lives
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