Civil Protection Units

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Civil Protection Units (YPS)
Yekîneyên Parastina Sivîl (YPS)
Kurdish–Turkish conflict
  • 2015–16 Şırnak clashes

The Civil Protection Units (

Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement, otherwise known as the YDG-H.[2] In 2015 the YDG-H reorganized themselves in to what is known as the YPS today.[2]

History

It was claimed that the YPS was originally formed on 20 December 2015 by the Kurdish rebels as a version of the

Kurdish-Turkish conflict has led to speculation of civil war in Turkey.[6]

The YPS initially took a defensive posture in the

Turkish government.[7]
Such branches are in Nusaybin, Sirnak, Sur, and Yüksekova (also known as Gever).

YPS Members in the Snow

There is also a female branch of the YPS known as the YPS-Jin that was founded in 2016 one year after the initial YPS foundation, one of the causes which they fight for is gender equality. Some members of the YPS-Jin were also once victims of ISIS during the

Yazidi genocide that took place in 2014.[8] Women who were once victims of ISIS, whether it be they were sold into the sex slave industry or their family was murdered, joined the ranks of YPS and YPS-Jin to avenge the victims of the Yazidis genocide.[8]

YDG-H

The YDG-H is the group that YPS was formed from. The YDG-H is the youth branch of the PKK resistance movement and was trained for urban guerrilla warfare tactics. Before the creation of YDG-H there were very little resistance forces that were actively fighting within city limits, which led to the creation of the YDG-H.[9] In the past, youths were afraid of the Turkish State, however, now they have joined the fight against them.[9] The ages of the YDG-H ranged from 15 to 25 years old, making them more radicalized and less likely for an open dialogue between them and Turkey.[9] A popular quote from a former Kurdish politician by the name of Serafettin Elci, said, "we are the last generation you are going to negotiate with. After us, you will confront an angry youth that has grown up in war.”[9] In 2015, the YDG-H formed into what is now the YPS.

YPS-Jin

Turkish government and the YPS-Jin established there to protect this newly found autonomy and defend against any state-sanctioned attacks in the region.[13] The YPS-Jin protected the signing of the declaration of autonomy in Yüksekova, saying that life will be either free or not exist at all.[13]

Flag of YPS-J

Differences with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)

Map

The

ISIS tactics in these changes in fighting.[15]

Recruitment efforts

The YPS is the reorganized branch of the youth wing in the

Turkish government's role in terrorizing the Kurdish people in the region .[16] The YPS called upon all students, youths, and women to join the YPS and YPS-Jin in the fight against the Turkish government.[16]

The YPS calls on everyone who can join to do so and that everyone should be a part of the growing movement. YPS calls on everyone who is affected by the Turkish state, whether it be curfews, occupation, or both, to join them to defend themselves against the oppression of the Turkish government.[17] The YPS calls on young men and women to join their ranks to defend their towns. A popular phrase that the YPS uses is "Bijî berxwedana gelê Kurd", which means "long live the resistance of the Kurdish people".[17] The YPS believes that now is the time to fight for one's freedoms and not doing so will only give power to the state. Any youth who has the call for revolution is urged to join the YPS, said one YPS commander in an interview.[18]

Branches

Nisebîn (Nusaybin)

Source:[19]

Turkish army surrounded Nusaybin with tanks in an attempt to drive out resistance fighters.[21] The fight between the YPS and Turkey did not seem to have an end in sight when it came to Nusaybin. This eventually led to the YPS withdrawing from Nusaybin in an effort to better protect the civilians inside the city limits.[20] There were hundreds of casualties in Nusaybin, which is what eventually led the YPS to withdraw, to avoid any possible further massacres of innocents, who they fight to protect.[20]

Şirnex (Şırnak)

Source:[22]

Şırnak is a town in Turkey near the border of Iraq and Syria. In July 2015, Turkey bombed Şırnak which ended up killing PKK officials and the conflict and violence just grew from there.[23] Many other bombings and killings of resistance fighters and Turkish police followed suit. In January 2016, the YPS commander in Şırnak released a statement bashing Kurds who do not take part in the resistance against Turkey and do not support the YPS.[24] Like Nusaybin, Şırnak also had a curfew placed on it and like Nusaybin, there were barricades made from road rubble.[25] Between March 14 and November 14 of 2016 the people of Şırnak are allowed to go home only between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.[25] This partial curfew is in place to clean up the pot holes and barricades left by resistance movements, says Turkish officials, which was referred to as Martyr Gendarmerie Lieutenant Mehmet Çiftçi.[25] After this clean up it was discovered approximately 508 militants were killed and 1,845 bombs were set off in Şırnak during the peak of the conflict.[25] Also, 39 pits that were used to create barricades were filled and over 200 barricades were demolished.[25]

Sur (Sur)

Sur is in the district of Diyarbakır province in Eastern Turkey. In July 2015, homes, churches, and mosques were all under threat from Turkish police making it almost impossible for those who once lived there to return.[26] Many people speculated the reason for the conflict in this region was the Turkish State's desire to turn Sur into a tourist destination, which would begin with making it financially impossible for locals to live there.[26] The fighting and oppression on the civilians only increased from here. After a failed cease-fire in 2015, Turkish police reinstated curfews in many district across Turkey, this led people flee to Sur, since it is newly established without a curfew.[26] This made the YPS declare Sur as an autonomous zone. Between December and March 2015, the Turkish Army sent in tanks, helicopters, and guns to take back control from resistance fighters.[26] Turkish officials blame the start of the fighting in this district on the YPS. Turkish officials cited YPS as attempting to take control of the region and referring to them as a terrorist group.[26] The YPS set up barricades, roadblocks, checkpoints, and trenches to keep out the Turkish Government. The YPS was also armed with machine guns, RPGs, and explosives.[26] The Turkish government responded with curfews which only led to bloody and violent conflict between the two groups.[26] In March 2016, the region was considered clear by the Turkish government, the curfew was lifted, and 279 resistance fighters were killed, including the youngest who was a 13-year-old girl.[26]

Gever (Yüksekova)

Yüksekova is located in South East Turkey towards the Iran and Iraq border. Like Sur, Sirnak, and Nusaybin, Yüksekova is not very different. The Turkish Army regularly patrols areas of Yüksekova in armored vehicles and tanks in an effort to secure the area from resistance fighters.[27] In this particular area there have been instances of the YPS killing Turkish police in what they explain as an eye for an eye. On October 8, 2016, four civilians were killed in Yüksekova, this made the YPS retaliate by ambushing an armored vehicle containing four Turkish forces officials, all of which were killed by the YPS.[27] This is not the only instance were ambushed on Turkish police have happened in Yüksekova. On September 11, 2016, YPS members in the district of Cumhuriyet, in Yüksekova, ambushed a police checkpoint which resulted in the death of four Turkish police officers.[28]

Turkey's Response

Turkey had labeled the YPS as a terrorist organizations. As such, any time the YPS develops a stronghold in a district such as Nusaybin, Sirnak, Sur, or Gever the Turkish Army is there to push back.[20][23][26] In many cases where YPS set up barricades, Turkey met them with equal if not more power such as tanks, automatic machine guns, and helicopters with gun mounts. In some instances even surrounding the entire district with tanks for no one can escape, and if anyone is caught trying to they will be shot.[21] President Erdogan has said on multiple occasions that there is no Kurdish problem, only a terrorist problem and he will not stop until he defeats every last one of them.[29]

In instances where a family's child has been killed, who was in the ranks of YPS, they are not likely permitted to see the bodies. In one case a young 17-year-old girl left to join the YPS, however, she never returned home. She was killed in a firefight with the Turkish Army.[29] Since she and the others were labeled as terrorists by Turkey, Turkey did not show any sense of compassion for them.[29] In the instance of this case, the government allowed the families to enter the districts where their children are lying dead, however, they make it nearly impossible for the families to bury their children.[29]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9781138195295
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  2. ^ a b c "Managing Turkey's PKK Conflict: The Case of Nusaybin". Crisis Group. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  3. ^ "#Bakur Revolt". Twitter. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  4. ^ "ANF - Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê". Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  5. ^ Bozarslan, Mahmut (7 March 2016). "With spread of IS-like tactics, urban warfare in Turkey grows bloodier". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  6. ^ Chris Kilford More Chris Kilford. "Chris Kilford: Could Turkey be headed towards civil war?". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  7. ^ "ANF - Ajansa Nûçeyan a Firatê". Anf News. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  8. ^ a b France-Presse, Rouba El-Husseini, Agence. "Sold by IS in Raqa, Yazidi female fighters back for revenge". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2018-11-27.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ a b c d Gurcan, Metin (2015-08-31). "PKK looks to the future with creation of youth militias". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  10. ^ a b c "Urgent call to feminists and women's organisations for solidarity". Peace in Kurdistan. 2016-01-22. Archived from the original on 2018-11-25. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  11. ^ "Yaşamak için YPS Jin". Özgür Gündem. 9 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Presentación de las YPS-jin, unidades de defensa civil de mujeres". Rojava Azadî (in European Spanish). 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  13. ^ a b c "YPS-Jin Gever announces its establishment". ANF News. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  14. ^ a b c d Uslu, Ali; Intern, Research (April 2016). "The Kurdish Movement: Politicians and Fighters". www.csis.org. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
  15. ^ "Old Dogs, New Tricks: Urban Warfare in Turkey's War with the PKK - War on the Rocks". War on the Rocks. 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  16. ^ a b c "University students join the ranks of YPS-Jin in Cizre". ANF News. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  17. ^ a b "Civil Defense Force Founded In Nisêbîn". The Rojava Report. 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  18. ^ "Interview with YPS Commander In Şirnex, North Kurdistan". The Rojava Report. 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  19. ^ "Civil Defense Units (YPS) established in Nusaybin". BestaNûçe Bestanuce.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d "Kurdish YPS withdraws from Turkey's Nusaybin to protect civilians". Rudaw. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  21. ^ a b c d "Nusaybin, the Turkish city where war is now a way of life". The Independent. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  22. ^ "Şırnak'ta Sivil Savunma Birlikleri (YPS) kuruldu - zernews.net". ZERNEWS - Ortadoğu, Türkiye, KürdistanKürdistan Son Dakika Haberleri - zernews.net. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  23. ^ a b "L'armée turque pilonne le PKK dans le sud-est". FIGARO. 2015-07-28. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  24. ^ "Security forces kill PKK-linked YPS leader in southeastern Şırnak". DailySabah. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  25. ^ a b c d e "Curfew partially lifted in Turkey's Şırnak - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Fear in Turkey's old city of Diyarbakir, despite multi-million reconstruction". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2018-11-24.
  27. ^ a b "YPS: 4 special operations police killed in Gever". ANF News. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  28. ^ e.V., ISKU Informationsstelle Kurdistan. "Aktion der YPS in Gever". isku.blackblogs.org (in German). Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  29. ^ a b c d Kuntz, Katrin; Belli, Onur Burçak; (photos), Emin Oezmen (2016-02-12). "Children of the PKK: The Growing Intensity of Turkey's Civil War". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
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