Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain) is one of the cities that fell to the Turkish invasion troops after eleven days of bitter resistance. Nearly 250,000 people have been displaced from the border town and its environs. The civilians have found shelter in school buildings or with the population of the surrounding villages.

ANF spoke with the co-chairs of the People's Council of Serêkaniyê, Fadia Ibrahîm Ibrahîm and Ferec Mihemed Kado about the occupation of the region, the current situation of the population and their perspectives.

"Erdoğan tries to his its Ottoman dreams with murder and expulsion”

Regarding the background of the attacks, co-chair Fadia Ibrahîm Ibrahîm says: "Erdoğan dreams of reviving the Ottoman Empire. He wants to occupy the entire region under the name of a 'security zone'. The Turkish state kills civilians and forces us to flee. The cruel attacks of the Turkish state on the civilian population continue. The Turkish state wants to implement its own plans here in the region. The Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Armenian and Yazidi people are under threat. We want to return to the land of our ancestors and to our city."

"The Turkish state is trying to play us off against each other"

Ferec Mihemed Kado, co-chair of the People's Council of Serêkaniyê, explains: "Refugees from all over Syria were welcomed in Serêkaniyê. There were no problems at all in the city. We lived together in peace. The Turkish state wanted to destroy this unity, attacked our city and murdered many civilians. The population of Serêkaniyê has been the target of attacks by the Turkish state for years. It is trying to destroy the whole structure of the peoples in the region by attacking the Kurdish people.

"As long as the Turkish state is there, we cannot return"

As long as the Turkish state is there, we can't go back. The Turkish state has used banned weapons such as white phosphorus to attack the civilian population. It attacked everyone, whether women or children. Many civilians have died as a result of the attacks by the Turkish State. The Turkish state cooperates with the ISIS. What can one expect from a state that cooperates with the ISIS? The teacher of the ISIS has been Erdoğan himself".

"We accept no force except the SDF"

Kado explains that the population fought against the ISIS together with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF): "The SDF paid a high price and liberated the region from the ISIS. We gave 12,000 dead for it. The people of Serêkaniyê fought together with the SDF against the fascism of the ISIS and the Turkish state. As the population of Serêkaniyê we want no other force than the SDF on our soil. We trust only the SDF, the YPG and YPJ. The forces of the SDF defend our country and our dignity against the ISIS and the Erdoğan dictatorship. We are ready to give all our children as martyrs for the struggle against Turkish fascism. We will never leave our country to Erdoğan or the ISIS.

250.000 refugees from Sêrekaniyê

Due to the attacks of the Turkish state, about 250,000 civilians had to flee. About 130,000 were accommodated in schools in Hesekê. Some of them live on the streets. The international public and the international community must take a stand and intervene urgently. They must stop the ISIS - and Erdoğan-fascism. They must create the necessary conditions for a return to our cities."