Syrian Kurds accused of 'war crimes' – Amnesty International

[webfact]

Syrian Kurds accused of 'war crimes' – Amnesty International



DAMASCUS: -- A Syrian Kurdish militia has driven out thousands of non-Kurdish civilians from areas they have captured from ISIL militants.

That’s the accusation from the London-based rights watchdog, Amnesty International which says the actions amount to war crimes.

In its report the organisation says the displacements and house demolitions appear to have been in retaliation for residents suspected of supporting or having links with ISIL.

“In its fight against IS, the Autonomous Administration appears to be trampling all over the rights of civilians who are caught in the middle. We saw extensive displacement and destruction that did not occur as a result of fighting. This report uncovers clear evidence of a deliberate, co-ordinated campaign of collective punishment of civilians in villages previously captured by IS, or where a small minority were suspected of supporting the group.” – extract from Amnesty Report.

Amnesty accuses the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) which is the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of raying entire villages controlled by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration.

The YPG is a key ally of the US-led international coalition against ISIL.

A spokesperson for the YPG has denied the allegation as “entirely false”. Amnesty said the YPG had sought to justify its actions, insisting that they were necessary for the civilians’ own protection or militarily necessary.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2015-10-14

[oneday]

The US better figure out the truth here before they are caught backing rebels as bad as ISIL, otherwise, this will be yet another stain on America that the people of the world will hold over our head for years to come. If YPG is doing what this reports says they are doing, then if the US has any influence at all they need to make YPG stop what they are doing. Tell them to stop or their supplies and arms will stop coming and the US should just leave Syria to the Russians.

[Scott]

During the time that I was working in Syria, one of the problems was that Kurds were denied certain property rights. There were restrictions on Kurds buying and owning land, which worked to effectively displace them. This was a low-level campaign of Arabization of Kurdish homelands, which started with the elder Assad. Saddam used the same technique to gain control of portions of Northern Iraq, including Mosul.

I don't know if this plays a factor in their behavior, but it is worth noting.

No matter who you back in the ME, they aren't likely to meet the standards that Amnesty International would see as being fair.

[ausbeat999]

Not once have I seen a good report come from the american media about the Kurds, they have been the only brave people to stand up for their rights , heroic attributes by their women and a very strong companionship . Saddam used chemical warfare on them decades ago and they battled through it . Their history goes back further than the Iraq state but it seems that there is a conspiracy between Turkey,USA,Iran,Syria and others in the region. They were the only state or region to take in other ethnic minorities and shelter them when this all erupted, and now accusing them of this, well maybe if its true it might be poetic justice to the others for the Kurds lands being taken in the first place. this is all a script anyway being played out, thought out years ago.

[Harsh Jones]

The US better figure out the truth here before they are caught backing rebels as bad as ISIL, otherwise, this will be yet another stain on America that the people of the world will hold over our head for years to come. If YPG is doing what this reports says they are doing, then if the US has any influence at all they need to make YPG stop what they are doing. Tell them to stop or their supplies and arms will stop coming and the US should just leave Syria to the Russians.

They've already been caught helping ISIS. What the US has been doing is steering ISIS toward Syrian government forces. As long as they are fighting govt forces , they leave them alone. But if they start attacking kurds or "moderates", they start bombing them.

[Harsh Jones]

During the time that I was working in Syria, one of the problems was that Kurds were denied certain property rights. There were restrictions on Kurds buying and owning land, which worked to effectively displace them. This was a low-level campaign of Arabization of Kurdish homelands, which started with the elder Assad. Saddam used the same technique to gain control of portions of Northern Iraq, including Mosul.

I don't know if this plays a factor in their behavior, but it is worth noting.

No matter who you back in the ME, they aren't likely to meet the standards that Amnesty International would see as being fair.

Your last sentence is so true and everyone knows it. So why did Amnesty Intl decide to take out a hit piece on on the Kurds ? Strange.

[chilli42]

I guess somebody forgot to tell Amnesty Internayionsl that the Kurds are at war with a collection of rabid dogs. Do you think that it's remotely possible that Syrian and Iraqi Arabs may have done something during the fighting that made the Kurds question whether they could trust these people? One small example " ... Isis specialises in using militarily untrained volunteers as suicide bombers either moving on foot wearing suicide vests, or driving vehicles packed with explosives. Often more than one suicide bomber is used, as happened when a vehicle exploded at the headquarters of a Kurdish party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the town of Jalawla in the ..." I am going to take a leap here and assume the bombers were not Kudish. Are the Kurds actions a bit heavy handed? Well maybe, but they are not killing anyone - though Turks, Iraqis and Isis have been busy killing Kurds for years. You might remember that Iraqi used chemical weapon attacks on Kudish towns. The Kurds have been given the shaft by just about everyone, including the US and Europeans at the end of WWI. Their mistrust of outsiders is not unexpected. The enemy of my enemy is my freind ... leave the Kurds alone and let them keep on winning.

[Scott]

Not once have I seen a good report come from the american media about the Kurds, they have been the only brave people to stand up for their rights , heroic attributes by their women and a very strong companionship . Saddam used chemical warfare on them decades ago and they battled through it . Their history goes back further than the Iraq state but it seems that there is a conspiracy between Turkey,USA,Iran,Syria and others in the region. They were the only state or region to take in other ethnic minorities and shelter them when this all erupted, and now accusing them of this, well maybe if its true it might be poetic justice to the others for the Kurds lands being taken in the first place. this is all a script anyway being played out, thought out years ago.

The Kurds are very well thought of by the US gov't, by most US citizens and after the 2nd gulf war, over 10,000 were given refugee status in the US under Operation Quick Transit.

The US gov't was very actively engaged in dealing with the fighting between the PUK and KDP factions in Iraq and there was also the no-fly zone to provide them with protection from Saddam.

[ausbeat999]

I guess somebody forgot to tell Amnesty Internayionsl that the Kurds are at war with a collection of rabid dogs. Do you think that it's remotely possible that Syrian and Iraqi Arabs may have done something during the fighting that made the Kurds question whether they could trust these people? One small example " ... Isis specialises in using militarily untrained volunteers as suicide bombers either moving on foot wearing suicide vests, or driving vehicles packed with explosives. Often more than one suicide bomber is used, as happened when a vehicle exploded at the headquarters of a Kurdish party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the town of Jalawla in the ..." I am going to take a leap here and assume the bombers were not Kudish. Are the Kurds actions a bit heavy handed? Well maybe, but they are not killing anyone - though Turks, Iraqis and Isis have been busy killing Kurds for years. You might remember that Iraqi used chemical weapon attacks on Kudish towns. The Kurds have been given the shaft by just about everyone, including the US and Europeans at the end of WWI. Their mistrust of outsiders is not unexpected. The enemy of my enemy is my freind ... leave the Kurds alone and let them keep on winning.

well said