Young Kurdish men raise victory signs inside a bus in Sulaymaniyah on Tuesday as they prepare to travel toward northeastern Syria, known as Rojava, following demonstrations in support of Kurds there. Photo by 964media.
Heading toward Rojava, Kurds mobilize in Kurdistan Region
SULAYMANIYAH — Following overnight demonstrations across the Kurdistan Region, groups of Kurds have began organizing travel toward northeastern Syria, known as Rojava, saying they aim to support Kurds there after renewed fighting.
In Sulaymaniyah, men and women were seen preparing to depart by bus. Mohammed Salar, a 20-year-old from the Takiya Kakmand area of Chamchamal district, told 964media, “It is time to go to Rojava and defend our Kurdish brothers, because being Kurdish is an honor.”
He added, “I am ready to go there, shoulder to shoulder, carry weapons and fight, because this is a day of unity, and we are ready to give our blood for the sake of the Kurds of Rojava.” He said images of Kurdish women and men killed in Rojava were “unacceptable.”
Fuad Hassan, a student from the city of Hasakah in Rojava currently living in Sulaymaniyah, told 964media, “The Kurdish people are being subjected to collective killing now, and all Kurds must respond.”
He added, “All Kurds must unite and fight together, and these artificial borders must not remain.”
Another man from eastern Kurdistan in Iran, who said he planned to travel from Sulaymaniyah to Rojava, told 964media, “If we do not go to Rojava today, we cannot ask anyone else to help us.”
He added, “Those in Rojava are our brothers and sisters, there is no difference. Today the war is in Rojava, and tomorrow it reaches our homes.”
A young man from Kalar who arrived in Sulaymaniyah told 964media, “Being Kurdish is honor and homeland is a mother, and everyone must unite and not allow this injustice to be accepted.”
He added, “What conscience accepts killing children and humiliating the Kurdish people of Rojava?”
Video recorded by a 964media correspondent showed several buses prepared to transport youths, with one participant from Rojava saying, “I am returning to Rojava to defend my nation.”
Similar preparations were reported among groups traveling from Kirkuk by bus, where participants told 964media they were heading to Rojava “to defend dignity, honor and life” and to fight “side by side with our Kurdish brothers.”
The mobilization followed large demonstrations late Monday and early Tuesday across the Kurdistan Region. The protests were sparked by the collapse of a ceasefire and integration agreement in northeastern Syria and a call by the Syrian Democratic Forces for public mobilization.