REPORT: Kurdish militants in the line of Syria's raging battles

In the midst of efforts to take control over Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, a new development has emerged as of October 25th with armed opposition members, the majority of whom are Kurdish, entering the Achrafieh district northwest of Aleppo.                    

The northern neighborhoods of Aleppo including Achrafieh which are controlled by the Democratic Union Kurdish Party of Syria were relatively far from the battles raging in the city since last July after the withdrawal of the Syrian army, leaving some sort of substantial autonomy for the Kurdish authorities despite the fact that Kurds are supporting the revolution and demanding the fall of the regime.                     

Many questions have been raised regarding this development, notably why the district is still vulnerable to bombardment after the withdrawal of the armed opposition and who is shelling the neighborhood and the demonstrators? Is it army forces or opposition forces? Is there any Turkish role in the whole incident?            

Within this framework, a commander in the Free Syrian Army said: "our main goal is to topple the Syrian regime."                   

What is known so far is that Kurds oppose the Syrian regime, with reassurance from both the armed opposition and Turkey.               

It is worth mentioning that Kurds make up 10 to 15 % of the Syrian population, and are the largest ethnic minority in Syria.               

60% of the Kurds in Syria reside in Haska province especially in Qamishli, Amouda, and al-Malikiya.                

As for the other 40% they are in Aleppo especially in the northern region of the Turkish borders in Ain Arab, Afrin, Aazaz, in addition to some districts of the northern city of Aleppo.            

In Damascus, the Kurdish presence is mainly in Al-Roken neighborhood and to a lesser extent in the provinces of Idlib, Homes, and Reqqa.


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