Politics

Kurds divided after 'incredible' Kobani moment of unity: McGurk

US President Barack Obama’s Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State (IS) Brett McGurk said Kurds were divided after the unifying Kobani moment passed.

Ari Khalidi 2016/10/11 13:51

kurdistan Kurdistan USA Kobani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – US President Barack Obama’s Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State (IS) Brett McGurk said Kurds were divided after the unifying Kobani moment passed.

During a discussion on how to defeat IS with the former head of the CIA and retired General David Petraeus in New York City, McGurk stressed Kurds had a historic moment, but different party lines prevented them from working it out together.

McGurk pointed to the so-far-unbridged divisions among the major parties of the Kurdistan Region.

He also mentioned how Iraq’s former Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, was sacked from his post by the Iraqi Parliament with the approval of some Kurdish MPs in Baghdad.

Giving the incentive the 2014 resistance of Kobani created for Kurdish unity across the region as an example, McGurk described the current divisions in the Kurdistan Region as concerning according to a video record of the event released by the 92Y NYC community.

Kobani became a rallying point for all Kurds when the men and women fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) met the September 2014-January 2015 IS assault and siege with fierce resistance.

The YPG’s battle against IS resulted in victory with the help of US-led coalition airstrikes and Peshmerga reinforcements.

“The reason I bring this up is because there was this incredible moment of Kurdish unity and everybody [was] working together and recognizing that they have a significant moment,” said McGurk.

The Special Envoy also recounted how President Obama decided to airdrop military and medical supplies to the defenders of Kobani.

“Since then, the threat of [IS] has actually receded a little bit. You have seen, in Iraq, the three Kurdish parties have kinda’ been at each other’s throats,” McGurk continued.

McGurk’s statement was referring to ongoing disputes between the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Goran Movement, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany