Kurdish-German footballer joins hunger strike against Turkey
March 21, 2018
Deniz Naki was born in Germany to a Kurdish family and has long been a critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. More than 1,500 Kurdish fighters have died fighting Turkish forces in northern Syria.
Deniz Naki on Wednesday in front of the UN in GenevaImage: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Oelrich
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Kurdish-German footballer Deniz Naki joined a hunger strike in front of the United Nations headquarters in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday to demonstrate against Turkey's military offensive in Kurdish regions of Syria.
"We demand that the Turkish military and its Islamist allies withdraw from Afrin and end this war of aggression," German daily newspaper Die Welt quoted Naki as saying.
The 28-year-old, who was born to a Kurdish-Turkish family in Germany, previously played for the under-21 German national team and St. Pauli in the northern city of Hamburg.
Around 200 Kurds, including some Kurdish mayors from Turkey, also joined the hunger strike alongside Naki.
More than 1,500 Kurdish fighters belonging to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) have been killed since Ankara began a military intervention on January 20 into the majority-Kurdish region.
Ankara claims that the YPG is an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Turkish-based group that has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Turkey's operation for the first time on Wednesday in a speech to the German parliament.
"Despite all justified security interests of Turkey, it's unacceptable what's happening in Afrin where thousands and thousands of civilians are being pursued, dying or have to flee," she said.
She added: "We also condemn this in the harshest manner."
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
