The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which launched an attack on Zap, Metina and Avaşîn regions of the Federated Kurdistan Region on April 17 in partnership with the AKP-MHP, on the one hand exerts pressure on Iraq to attack Shengal, and on the other hand it is besieging the border of Northern and Eastern Syria. The KDP increased the number of outposts on the 33-kilometer border line between the Federated Kurdistan Region and Northern and Eastern Syria to 66, and established bases with Turkey at many points.

 

Firat News Agency (ANF) reporter Bêrîtan Sarya discussed the aims of the KDP's siege of Northern and Eastern Syria and Shengal. Before the Syrian civil war, the border of Northern and Eastern Syria under KDP control stretched from Peşxabûr, located in the Turkey-Syria-Iraq triangle, to the village of Sihêla. The line from the Iraqi village of Sihêla to the Rabia border gate was controlled by the Iraqi army. Until 2012, there were only 8 outposts left from the Saddam era and which KDP forces started to use on this border. Increasing the number of police stations to 20 in 2012, when the Rojava Revolution began, the KDP  started digging trenches between the Federated Kurdistan Region and the border with the city of Derik in Northern and Eastern Syria in April-May 2014.

 

BOTH IRAQ AND KDP FLEED

 

With the start of the ISIS attacks on Mosul in June 2014, the Iraqi army fled from the village of Şihêla on the Derik border, leaving the line unprotected until the Rabia Border Gate. KDP and a small number of PUK forces settled in areas evacuated by Iraq. With the attack launched by ISIS on Shengal on August 3, 2014, the KDP pulled its 12,000-strong force from the region and left the Yazidis face to face with a massacre. Rabia district and Rabia Border Gate between Shengal and Til Koçer were also occupied by ISIS. KDP peshmerga fled like Iraqi soldiers, leaving the line unprotected. People's Defense Units (YPG) and Women's Defense Units (YPJ), which opened a humanitarian corridor from Til Koçer to Shengal by fighting against ISIS in order to save the Yazidis under the threat of genocide, took back Mahmudiyê, Tawis, Kaile and Tawis villages from ISIS. Clashes with ISIS in Rabia continued for a long time. Rabia and the border gate were completely liberated on September 30, 2014, with the participation of PUK and KDP peshmergas.

 

CONTROL OF THE BORDER LEFT TO THE CONTROL OF THE PESHMERGA

 

YPG-YPJ members, who took control of most of the town of Rabia left the control to the peshmerga, crossed into Northern and Eastern Syria. Thus, the other side of the 86-kilometer border from Peshxabur to Rabia and Rabia Border Gate came under the control of the peshmerga.

 

KDP FLEED FROM THE BORDER ONCE AGAIN

 

In this process, only the KDP peshmerga remained in the region due to the strife of the KDP and PUK, which are the components of the Federal Kurdistan Government, to share the area. The Iraqi army, which took action in October 2017 with the referendum held by the KDP, entered many regions along with Kirkuk. The KDP left part of the Dêrik-Til Koçer border again and withdrew to the village of Mahmudiyê, 15 km from the town of Rabia.

 

BORDER LINE UNDER THE CONTROL OF KDP

 

Since mid-October 2017, the KDP has started to control the 33-kilometer border line from the Peşxabûr triangle opposite of Derîk to the Mahmudiyê village across Til Koçer. The Qamishlo and Shengal border line, which started after this line, was controlled by Hashd al-Shaabi and later by Iraqi police forces between 2017-2021. This line starts from Derik and extends to Rabia and from there to the vicinity of Shengal.

 

COOPERATION WITH TURKEY

 

The KDP, which mend its deteriorated relations with Turkey after the referendum with its anti-Kurdish position, cooperated with Turkey on the border of Northern and Eastern Syria. Following the meeting of Federated Kurdistan Regional President Nêçîrvan Barzani with AKP President Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara, outposts and observation points were started to be built along the border of Northern and Eastern Syria, and KDP special forces were stationed at these points. New police stations and military posts were built from the hilly terrains close to the Peşxabûr Border Gate to the village of Mahmudiyê. KDP special forces were deployed to old outposts and newly established ones, and heavy weapons were placed at these points. These outposts were equipped with thermal cameras, and technical vehicles were deployed to the Xanike and Chilekiyê bases.

 

TURKISH AND KDP INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES IN COOPERATION

 

After this siege, MIT and KDP intelligence were deployed to the Al Qale and Chilekiyê bases behind the Tigris River. It started to be used to investigate those who passed from Northern and Eastern Syria to the Federated Kurdistan Region, especially children, and families in the military institutions affiliated to the Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Administration. A base was established on Bêxêr Mountain in the Federated Kurdistan Region, which overlooks the North-East Syria border, from which Turkish reconnaissance planes take off.

 

BORDER LINE UNDER SIEGE

 

With the imposition of Turkey, the siege on the border of Northern and Eastern Syria was accelerated following the "Shengal Agreement" signed between Baghdad and Hewler on October 9, 2020, under the auspices of the United States of America (USA) and the United Nations (UN). Immediately after the agreement, the KDP began sending its special forces to the border line and building new outposts. Lastly, in February, the KDP established 3 new outposts between its own forces and Iraqi border forces in the village of Mahmudiyê. Together with these outposts, at least 66 outposts and hundreds of land positions of the KDP have been completed on the 33-kilometer North and East Syrian border from Peşxabûr to Mahmudiyê village. Thus, the border between the Federated Kurdistan Region and Northern and Eastern Syria was completely besieged.

 

ECONOMIC EMBARGO

 

The Semalka Border Gate, located between the Federated Kurdistan Region and Northern and Eastern Syria, was closed many times by the KDP and an embargo was imposed on the region. After the Iraqi central government's participation in the anti-Kurdish policies of Turkey and the KDP, the Al-Walid Border Gate on the Shengal border was also closed from time to time. This situation is considered as an "economic embargo" by the people of the region. As a matter of fact, citizens who have long wanted to pass through the Semalka Border Gate to the Federated Kurdistan Region have to inform months in advance and get approval from Parastin, the KDP's intelligence unit.

 

IRAQ IS ALSO INVOLVED IN THE SIEGE

 

While the KDP completely seiged the Federated Kurdistan Region and the border with Northern and Eastern Syria, the Iraqi central government first closed the border between Shengal and Northern and Eastern Syria, as a continuation of the "Shengal Agreement", with wires and cameras and built a 3 meter 75-centimeter-high wall.

 

Thus, within this concept, Ankara-Baghdad-Hewlêr wants to cut off the connections to Shengal, North East Syria and the Federated Kurdistan Region.