Fawaz Zuba al-Mirhem is President of the Jibur Tribal Association and has spoken to ANF about the Turkish occupation operation in Northern and Eastern Syria. His tribe will not accept any military force in the region other than the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), he said.

The Jibur Tribal Association lives in Syria in the regions of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Hesekê, Shaddadi, Hol, Til Berak and Qamishlo, and includes the largest Arab tribes in the region. It has 1.5 million members in Syria, 8.5 million in Iraq, 400,000 in Yemen, 500,000 in Jordan, 850,000 in Saudi Arabia and 150,000 in Bahrain. Altogether it is assumed about twelve million members.

Fawaz Zuba al-Mirhem blames the Turkish state and its predecessors for a centuries-long occupation policy: "The Jibur tribal association consists of dozens of tribes and has lived in this region for centuries. In Syria, 22 tribes belong to the association. There are also tribes in Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Bahrain who belong to our association. The fact that the Turkish state is now targeting our territories is nothing new; it happened with the emergence of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey still behaves as if the territory of other countries belonged to it. It reserves the right, above all, to expel the Armenians, Yazidis and Kurds and confiscate their land.

Border security as a pretext for occupation

Now the Turkish state, together with two other large countries, has displaced the Kurds living on the Syrian border. Until the Turkish attack on the region, all the communities in Syria lived together. Turkey has already occupied large areas for its supposed security zone. Five Syrian cities are under Turkish occupation. Border security is only a pretext for the occupation.

Mercenary groups are constantly changing their names

The Turkish state has attacked the region with mercenary groups such as the ISIS, al-Nusra and the FSA. These groups are constantly getting new names. In the beginning they spread as Al-Nusra front in the area between Deir ez-Zor and Hesekê. Then they became ISIS. All this takes place under Turkish supervision. It is claimed that these gangs come from the region and have a right to live here. The Turkish state uses them for its own interests and constantly changes their names.

Syrian Democratic Forces, a multinational force

In the beginning, these groups were confronted by a few units of the YPG and YPJ. However, the defense units grew rapidly and some years ago the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was founded as an association in which all population groups such as Kurds, Arabs, Circassians, Turkmens, Assyrians and Syriacs are represented and which is therefore regarded as an international force. The SDF fought against the ISIS and liberated the country step by step from the mercenaries. A high price was paid for this. We have 12,000 martyrs and tens of thousands injured. This struggle became bigger and bigger and we liberated the country.

Extensive occupation plans

The alleged 'safety zone' initially had a range of five kilometers, later it was extended to 35 kilometers. The Turkish state once again occupied these areas for its own profit on the pretext of 'border security'. We did not carry out a single attack on Turkey. Turkey wants to occupy an area stretching from northern Syria to Iraq, because there are underground resources such as oil here. It regards this area as its own territory. It is, however, an occupation of parts of another country.

Syrians migrated to Turkey are used

Turkey uses for its attack young people who have migrated from Syria to Turkey. It deceived them all and gathered them around itself. If these people want to return of their own free will, we would welcome them and live with them. But that is not possible by carrying out an invasion, by killing children and women, torturing and plundering them. Our culture provides that a loaf of bread is divided into two pieces and given to our brothers and sisters. We cannot accept any other act.

Syrian government must take a stand

We also do not accept foreign forces in our country, neither the US and Russia nor Turkey. The SDF are our own children and our own forces. They protect our country. We only accept the SDF, all other forces must withdraw from the area. The Syrian government must position itself much more clearly against the occupation attacks by Turkey.

We will defend our own soil against the attacks. There is no need for other forces. They must leave our territories. We will protect our country together with all Syrian communities. Those who wish to return to Syria are welcome. However, we will never accept these people who are brought from Idlib, Hama and Homs to the supposed 'security zone'. We reject a fragmentation of Syria. There is only one Syria. We want to build a democratic model for all communities. This model is not limited to Syria; it can also be taken as an example of democracy and the rights of all peoples in neighbouring countries. The SDF and the autonomous administration have filled a gap and protected the region. This is impossible to ignore.

Message to Pro-Turkish Arabs

There's room for everyone in Syria. Many Arabs have also fallen in the battle waged in this region. My own relatives died in the fight against the ISIS. We cannot allow any force to settle in the region to pave the way for mercenaries. I would like to say something about those attacking us, especially the Arabs who lean back on the Turkish state. You should know that the Turkish State will not remain forever. One day you will return to your own country and to your people. It is not the Turkish State that defends you and takes care of you, it is us. I hope that they will become aware of this reality. We live fraternally in this country. It should be clear to these people that they are merely being used by Turkey. Don't let the Turkish state mislead you."