© www.makewarshistory.co.ukKurds subjected to a bombing for an attack they say they didn't perpetrate.
"Syrian Kurds immediately denied these allegations. Why would Syrian Kurds do this? The Kurds currently have a good reputation," Shamoyev said during a press conference in Moscow. The politician added that the terror attack could have been a provocation carried out by Turkey's Justice and Development Party to justify Ankara's shelling of Syrian Kurds and to start a ground operation in Syria. According to Shamoyev, Kurds do not want to secede from Turkey and only desire autonomy.
In recent weeks, Turkish forces have repeatedly attacked Kurdish People's Defense Units' positions in northern Syria, claiming the Kurdish militia threatens Turkish security. The Kurds are a Middle Eastern ethnic group with a population of some 30-35 million, living mainly in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. They do not have their own state, however, the Kurds have made several attempts to gain independence and have already obtained autonomy within the framework of the Iraqi state.
Comment: As stated, it is unlikely the Syrian Kurds had anything to do with this attack. The co-leader of the YPG's political wing denied that the affiliated YPG perpetrated the Ankara bombing and said Turkey was using the attack to justify an escalation in fighting in northern Syria. Erdogan's rush to blame Kurdish organizations without facts or evidence, suggests all he needed was an excuse to increase the shelling of Syrian Kurds and expand his operation against Iraqi Kurds as well, which he did within two hours of the explosion.