Thousands of residents of Kobani canton in northern Syria are protesting against Turkey’s construction of a wall along their joint border, which has sparked clashes with the Turkish police; in an interview with Sputnik Turkiye the canton’s Defense Minister has called the move invasive while other experts say it is aimed at separating the Kurds.
At the end of August, the Turkish authorities started building a new segment of a barrier wall along its southern border with Kobani (also spelled as Kobane) canton in northern Syria.
The announced purpose behind the move is security protection as the Turkish government looks at the region with unease because of its control by the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG). Kobani canton is the central of four cantons of de facto autonomous Federation of North Syria – Rojava. Although officially remaining part of Aleppo Governorate, Kobanî Canton was declared autonomous in January 2014, and since then has been administered by the interim government of the Kurdish Supreme Committee. In his interview with Sputnik Turkiye the canton’s Defense Minister İsmet Şeyh Hesen said that the residents of the canton have been protesting agaisnt the construction of the barrier for more than a week.
They have been living in tents on the border territory in order to block the construction works.
Last weekend there have been severe clashes between the protesters and the Turkish police.
“We are protesting against invasive actions of Turkey which has started the construction of a wall on our territory,” he told Sputnik.
“Kobani residents have been protesting for over a week by putting up tents to the west of Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border,” he added. “The Turkish police are trying to disperse the protesters by using tear gas and water cannons, injuring dozens of people, who are now undergoing treatment in a hospital,” the politician added.
İsmet Şeyh Hesen said that Turkey has drawn armored vehicles to its border with Syria intending to construct a four-meter wall on Syria’s territory.
Earlier they have already put a 150-meter barrier segment on the border with Kobani.
“The Kobani residents won’t allow any encroachment on the territories which belong to them,” he said.
At the end of August, ARA News agency, which reports on local developments across Rojava, Kurdistan Region, Syria, Iraq and Turkey said that the Rojava Self-Administration issued a statement condemning the Turkish barrier wall project, and called on the international community to take action and stop the Turkish violations on the border with Syria. “The Self-Administration in the Kobane canton condemns this aggression by the Turkish state against the people of our region. We appeal to the international community to break its silence and put pressure on the Turkish government to stop those violations,” it quoted the statement as saying.
The agency says that the Turkish barrier wall project is being implemented from the Mursitpinar crossing with a depth of 20m inside the Rojava territory in northern Syria.
“Our protest is aimed to deliver a message of condemnation to the Turkish government for this clear violation. This racist barrier wall is meant to hit the Kurdish people and separate them from each other in northern and western Kurdistan,” protester Muhammad Ahmed told ARA News.
“Building this barrier wall shows the Turkish attempt to separate our people,” he added.
Meanwhile Turkey claims that the construction of a concrete wall along the borderline with Syria comes in a bid to maintain security across the Turkish border.
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