Daily Times

After a 48-hour siege near the Turkey-Syria border, Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State (IS) have successfully advanced against IS troops in Tal Abyad. The Kurdish troops (YPG or People’s Protection Units) have already taken back another border town, Kobani. The reclamation of these towns along the Turkey-Syria border is a significant achievement, particularly Tal Abyad, which is part of IS’s supply route to its headquarters in Raqqa. If the YPG can retain control of Tal Abyad, it would prevent IS from moving into Turkey and importing supplies from there. Control of this town would also place the YPG in a strategic position to eventually attack IS’s main base of operations in Syria. It is interesting to note that parties that have little in common with the Kurdish forces and might otherwise be opposed to them, have been aiding their drive against IS. The US-led drone strikes in northern Syria have greatly aided the YPG’s advance, as has the assistance of other rebel groups including the western-backed Free Syrian Army and the Al-Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria). Considering the daunting threat of the brutal IS, which is spreading at an alarming rate in the region, any movement that checks its advance is sure to be appreciated by the embattled masses, which is why the YPG has gathered so much local support.

The fighting at the border has exacerbated the refugee crisis, as thousands of Syrians flee the border towns to join the 1.7 million refugees already in Turkey. On Saturday, IS militants rounded up refugees at Açkakale as Turkish security forces watched and pushed them back to Tal Abyad. Turkish officials have reopened the border to refugees, after having closed it in June, to prevent the humanitarian crisis at the border from worsening. The Mayor of Açkakale said that Turkey “cannot leave these people to die”. The YPG was able to fight back IS forces from the border shortly after. Despite this achievement and the positive prospects it brings for the fight against IS, the organisation is still a considerable threat. Even if IS is eventually removed from its strongholds in Iraq and Syria, other terrorist organisations (like Al-Nusra) may rise to fill the vacuum. The political future of Syria is unpredictable because control of the country is divided amongst the government, IS, the Islamist opposition and YPG, and it will certainly face considerable political uncertainty for years to come. The YPG and its allies’ military success against IS is a relief, yet the fact that the US is supporting rebel groups against the organisation is reminiscent of proxy wars of the past, which have not ended well. All stakeholders will have to learn from past mistakes if there is to remain any hope for the peace and stability of the region and global security.*