Irish Daily Mirror

MIRROR MEETS City of spies

Despite driving out IS, Kurds have been left exposed amid power struggle as terror group regains footing

- From CHRIS HUGHES in Rojava, Syria. Pictures: ROWAN GRIFFITHS News@ irishmirro­r. ie @ defencechr­is

THROUGH war- ravaged streets, life ebbs and flows with a veneer of normality, but espionage and mortal danger are never far away.

Covert enemies – from Turkey, Bashar al- Assad’s feared Syrian regime, as well as Islamic State sleeper cells – abound in the city of Qamishli, north- east Syria.

Here, the largely Kurdish statelet of Rojava had brief ly carved out a semiautono­mous peace after local forces backed by the West drove out IS.

But in 2019, US President Donald Trump betrayed the people by suddenly withdrawin­g his troops, forcing the Kurds to turn to Russia and Assad for protection from Turkish invaders.

After helping to get rid of IS on behalf of nations such as Britain, locals wonder why the West has left them in such a crisis.

One said: “We’re desperate. Nobody knows what will happen to us next.”

Driving into Qamishli – Rojava’s main city, near the Turkish border – we pass a large Russian military troop convoy.

Our driver picks a route bypassing Assad regime checkpoint­s, muttering that if we are caught our feet might not touch the ground before we reach a jail in the Syrian capital Damascus.

VIOLENCE

A Westerner lifted from these streets by Assad’s troops or spies would possibly never be seen again.

An American war tourist took a wrong turn here last year and was tortured for months in the regime’s prisons before being released.

But despite locals awaiting the next onslaught, t he al l eys and bazaars of Qamishli are bursting with shoppers.

The people have become resilient after nine years of violence.

In the past week, I S fighters have emerged from the shadows in Syria and murdered as many as 70 p e opl e, including civilians.

We are told that at night Syrian Democratic Forces – the Kurdish- led alliance trained by Britain and the US to beat IS – raid cells, seizing or killing agents from the various threats.

At a Qamishli bazaar, men play cards solemnly and families shop for food as security men with AK- 47 rifles watch us, and become irritated by our presence, waving us on as we try to chat to locals.

Two busloads of Assad’s military intelligen­ce officers drive past, eying shoppers from behind curtained windows.

As we duck into an alleyway, barber

Mohammed Mirzah , 76, says: “The threat first comes from Turkey, then IS and then the regime. All of us are very nervous of what will happen next.

“There are so many f lags here it is terrifying – Russian troops, the Syrian regime... and IS is never far away even t hough t hey were supposed t o be beaten. We want to get on with our lives.”

Most of his nine children have f led for Europe, l eaving him with j ust hi s youngest, Alan, 19, to help with the business. The tension here is palpable. IS car bombs blew up these streets a year ago, killing and injuring many. Some locals

bear the scars of war – such as awful facial wounds and missing limbs.

Toy shop owner Khaled Sheikhmuss, 50, says: “We are desperate as the economy is bad and the security situation is not good, as you can see.

“Nobody knows what will happen to us next. We have to keep surviving.”

We can no longer visit a restaurant popular with journalist­s last year. It is now too full of Assad’s spooks, officers from the Turkish MIT intelligen­ce agency, and Russia’s military intelligen­ce wing the GRU, which launched the novichok attack in Salisbury.

The spies are trading threats and seeking leverage. Added to the mix are local mafia bosses trying to get in on the turf war. Trump’s withdrawal of US troops from the region ef fe ctively gave the green light for Turkish forces to roll over the border.

T u r k e y k i l l e d hundreds of Syrians and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

T h e A m e r i c a n betrayal put paid t o years of efforts to help this region recover.

It allowed IS to surge again , and there are fears Turkey will further o v e r r u n R o j a v a , s w a l l o w i n g u p Qamishli, to buffer its t erritor y against t he

SDF. The West owes Rojava a huge debt after the SDF ended the IS strangleho­ld on the region, ousting them from Raqqa, where many attacks on Europe were plotted.

Years of Allied troops training the SDF have largely been undone by Trump’s action. People here hope Presi dentelect Joe Biden will plug the security gap.

R o j a v a ’ s F o r e i g n Minister Dr Abdulkarim Omar fears for the statel et’s population of five million and says Turkey used IS as a proxy to hit Rojava’s mostly Kurdish f o r c e s . B l a m i n g Britain and the US – whose special forces have l argely withdrawn south – he says: “This is t h e f a ul t of t h e c o a l i t i o n a nd Trump’s decision.

“We have played a major role in this region in defeating IS but there are many IS sleeper cells here. They are capable of getting into the UK as well.

“The UK needs to co- ordinate with us to find a solution. If this region is not made stable IS will rise up again.”

Further south, IS has already risen up, launching daily bomb attacks and assassinat­ions on the SDF who feel a b a ndon e d by t h e West. Th e y nervously wait to see if the US will withdraw troops completely, leaving

Rojava to turn entirely to Russia and Assad for help against Turkey.

An SDF commander told us: “Our special forces are attacking IS, Turkish and regime sleeper cells every night, trying to hold them back.

“But we also have to accept the open presence of the regime to keep Turkey at bay. We are pulled in every direction, yet we still have to fight IS.

“We are the front line against IS – if we were not, they would be all over European places li ke Britain even more than they are now.

“Tell people what is happening here. We aren’t just fighting for ourselves... it matters to you too.”

We are the front line against IS – without us they’d be all over Europe SDF COMMANDER ON THEIR BATTLE IN SYRIA

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? WARNING Foreign Minister Dr Omar talking to Mirrorman Chris about IS
WARNING Foreign Minister Dr Omar talking to Mirrorman Chris about IS
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? OMINOUS Assad regime checkpoint in Qamishli
OMINOUS Assad regime checkpoint in Qamishli
 ??  ?? ON THE EDGE... Shoppers in troubled city of Qamishli
ON THE EDGE... Shoppers in troubled city of Qamishli
 ??  ?? TRADER Khaled talks with Mirror’s Chris
TRADER Khaled talks with Mirror’s Chris
 ??  ?? OUT IN FORCE Russian troop convoy in Rojava
OUT IN FORCE Russian troop convoy in Rojava
 ??  ?? WORRIES Mohammed and son Alan
WORRIES Mohammed and son Alan

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