ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurds in Syria are under attack and the United Kingdom has to ensure that they are protected and their rights are safeguarded, Lord Peter Hain said on Tuesday. “They're [Kurds in Syria] under attack from jihadis inside Syria and they're also under attack from Turkey. And we've got to make sure that wherever Kurdish people are…their rights are respected and their heritage and Kurdish values and cultural rights … are recognized,” Peter Hain, a member of the House of Lords, told Rudaw. Kurdish forces in northern Syria are under intensified attacks by Turkey and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) militants, who took the strategic towns of Tal Rifaat and Manbij as the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was pushing on Damascus in a blistering offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime. He emphasized the importance of protecting the rights of all communities in Syria, including Kurds, Alawites, and Christians, noting the country’s complex social structure as a contributing factor to its challenges. Hain also touched on ongoing efforts to restart the Turkish-Kurdish peace process, describing the efforts as crucial for re-establishing democracy in Turkey and ensuring Ankara respects the rights of the Kurds. “It's really important that the democratic tradition of Turkey is re-established and the rights of all of its communities respected,” he said. Turkey considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as the Syrian front for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and has threatened to carry out a new military offensive against them.
