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Syria Weeps
The Fallout from the US Betrayal of the Kurds
A man reacts with alarm to noise from fireworks as a celebration takes place commemorating the 41st anniversary of PKK on Qandil Mountain in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on Sunday Nov. 29, 2019.
Fierce fighting between Kurdish and Turkish troops waged with the insurgency into northeast Syria after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew U.S. troops, a move that widely viewed as a betrayal of Kurdish allies.
Turkey deemed the PKK a terrorist organization and the ongoing conflict with them was stated as a main reason for the insurgency. Kurdish PKK fighters are based in the mountains of this region and many people taking part in the party lost family members to the fighting.
Turkey’s intent was to establish a safe zone using sophisticated drones and air artillery, but a proclaimed ceasefire did not hold as the wounded and dead were rushed to hospitals and residents fled besieged cities.
Dave Eubank from the humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers was there on a mission and lost a team member to a drone strike. He stated, “This zone is one of ethnic cleansing with 300,000 people displaced. Many have been killed and wounded. Homes are destroyed. The Kurds are calling this area ‘the genocide zone.’ The safe zone is not safe by any definition.” A family member at the funeral of her loved one wept saying, “Americans you betrayed us and anything that happens to us you are responsible.”
Soldiers with the Syrian army cheer on their way to the frontline to battle Turkish forces in Tel Tamir, Syria on Saturday Nov. 14, 2019. Some will not return. Fierce fighting with Turkey waged after the insurgency into northeast Syria when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew troops, a decision that was widely viewed as a betrayal of Kurdish allies who then formed an alliance with the Syrian regime forces.
Syrian Kurdish YPG soldiers fight Turkish forces with mortars at the front line near Tel Tamir, Syria on Monday Nov. 2, 2019. Turkey has used sophisticated weaponry and drones.
Kurdish woman Fida Aziz, holding her baby, is an Internally Displaced Persons who fled the conflict with Turkey and is receiving aid from a humanitarian group near the frontline in Tel Tamir, Syria on Thursday Oct. 29, 2019.
Tires and oil burn in an attempt to act as cover from airstrikes in the besieged city of Tel Tamir, Syria on Friday Oct. 30, 2019 as residents flee.
A woman gathers stones as local residents throw rocks at a joint Russian Turkish patrol in Bi'r Khneiss, Syria on November 11, 2019.
Local residents throw rocks at a joint Russian Turkish patrol in Bi'r Khneiss, Syria on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2019. Rage overwhelmed many in Syria who felt betrayed by the U. S. and forgotten by a world community.
Ajmad Bikair lost both parents - Ibrahim Muhammad Xalif, 60 and Ali Salish, 55 - who were killed by mortar fire in the Syrian conflict with Turkey near Tel Tamir, Syria on Saturday Oct. 31, 2019. He rushed them to hospital in the besieged city hoping they could be saved. They were gravely wounded at their home in Tal El Ward, which means ‘Village of Flower’. He wept inconsolably as body bags were unzipped and he viewed his lifeless parents then put them on a pickup truck for burial.
Residents flee villages near the frontline in Tel Tamir, Syria on November 14, 2019.
Syrian Arab IDPs that fled fierce fighting with Turkish forces in their villages at the frontline are now staying in Abu Kabira, Syria on November 19, 2019. They receive water and bread from humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers and said the needs were great, especially for blankets and tents for their cows in the cold night air.
A soldier is put in ambulance by humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers on a rescue mission at the front line of Kurdish YPG soldiers fighting Turkish forces near Tel Tamir, Syria on November 2, 2019. They defended themselves from fierce gunfire, six tank rounds and an RPG attack to rescue a soldier with internal injuries. His friend was heard to say in the ambulance that he would blow himself up if his friend died and appeared succumbing to the fear of battle.
A Free Burma Rangers vehicle carries wounded and dead back to hospital from the frontline as fierce fighting wages with Turkish forces near Tel Tamir, Syria on October 30, 2019.
Soldiers with SDF are rushed to hospital in Tel Tamir, Syria on November 9, 2019 during a bloody day on the frontline in the conflict with Turkish forces.
Zau Seng, a medic and videographer for the humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers was mortally wounded by a drone strike at the frontline in the conflict with Turkey in Tel Tamir, Syria on Tuesday Nov. 3, 2019. He was from Burma and left a wife and baby who celebrated her first birthday the day her father died. They were at a casualty collection point to rescue wounded. “He came here to help, said Dave Eubank from FBR. “People are still dying, we’re going to stand with them” as the group prepared to return to the front line shortly after the loss of one of their own. Eubank constantly apologized for what he called a betrayal by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Free Burma Ranger Dave Eubank prays as his team and hospital staff try to revive Zau Seng, a medic and videographer for the humanitarian group who was mortally wounded by a drone strike at the frontline in the conflict with Turkey in Tel Tamir, Syria on Tuesday Nov. 3, 2019.
Noora Hassan, mother of Kurdish YPG soldier Jan Qamishlo, screams in grief and rage at a funeral for three “martyrs” killed in the Syrian conflict with Turkey in Qamishli, Syria on Tuesday Nov. 3, 2019. One grieving family member said bitterly, “Americans you betrayed us and anything that happens to us you are responsible.”
Large crowds gather for a funeral held for three Kurdish “martyrs” killed in the Syrian conflict with Turkey in Qamishli, Syria on Tuesday Nov. 3, 2019.
A woman weeps in profound, quiet sorrow as eight SDF soldiers killed in the brutal battle with Turkey were honored at a ‘martyr’ funeral in Hassaka, Syria on Thursday Nov. 5, 2019.
Syrian IDPs that fled fierce fighting with Turkish forces in their villages at the frontline are now staying in Abu Kabira, Syria on November 16, 2019. They said the needs were great, especially for blankets in the cold night air and tents for their cows. Humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers delivered water this evening.
Syrian Kurdish YPG soldiers care for puppies at a checkpoint on the road to the besieged town of Tel Tamir, Syria on Tuesday Nov. 12, 2019. Smoke from burning oil is used as a shield from drones and airstrikes. The soldiers said the mother dog became frightened by loud artillery attacks and ran off, abandoning the pups.