YPJ commanders said that if there is an attack on Shengal, they will defend Shengal shoulder to shoulder with the Yazidis.

Gilîdax Kobanê and Amara Serêkaniyê, who were among the YPJ fighters and commanders who opened a corridor from Rojava to Shengal during the ISIS attack in August 2014, and helped save hundreds of thousands of Yazidis, evaluated the KDP's attempt to send their forces to Shengal to ANF.

Gilîdax Kobanê, one of the YPJ commanders, reminded that the KDP withdrew its forces from Shengal in August 2014, leaving the Yazidis face to face with a great massacre. Gilîdax Kobanê said: “ISIS carried out brutal massacres in Shengal. The HPG and YJA Star guerrillas went from the mountains, and we, as YPG-YPJ fighters, rushed from Rojava to save our Yazidi people in Shengal. When we reached Shengal, we saw that there was an attempt to destroy the Yazidi people completely. Today's efforts of the KDP are like the attacks of ISIS. The YPG-YPJ fighters rushed to help the Yazidis during the ISIS attacks in 2014, we will act in the same way against any attack by the KDP and we will protect Shengal and the Yazidis from these attacks.”

Gilîdax Kobanê drew attention to the bond formed between them and Shengal and said: “The picture of the Leader [Öcalan] was hanging in the house where we stayed. Two Yazidi children who survived the massacre arrived. When they saw the photo of the leader, they approached with a slight bow. I saw tears shed as they saluted the leadership. They came and sat next to us. ‘The Leadership saved us. Their approach to the leadership and to us was very respectful. That's how they take care of us today. They also came to Rojava during the Raqqa Campaign. YBŞ-YJŞ fighters fought alongside us against ISIS in Raqqa. If there is an attack by the KDP today, our Shengal people know that the YPG-YPJ will not leave them alone. We will take part in the war to defend the sacred lands of Shengal and the Yazidis. We will prevent this conspiracy and betrayal against the Kurds.”

Gilîdax Kobanê said that the KDP is trying to break the self-administration and self-defense structure established by the Shengal people and added that it signed the Shengal Agreement with the Baghdad administration on the basis of the alliance it developed with the Turkish government.

Underlining that Shengal is both a sacred and strategic area for them, Gilîdax Kobanê continued: “Shengal is strategic for Rojava. Defending Shengal is both defending the oppressed Yazidis who have been subjected to 73 massacres, and defending Rojava due to its strategic location. I state as a YPJ fighter: We do not wait for instructions from anyone. We cannot stand by such an attack; no conscience can accept it.”

'We will side with the Yazidi now as we did in 2014'

Amara Serêkaniyê, who was among the YPJ fighters who opened a corridor from Rojava to Shengal during the genocide attack of ISIS and was injured in Shengal, condemned the attempt to enter Shengal made by the KDP.

Amara Serêkaniyê said: “The international forces have decided to make the Kurds lose in Kurdistan. The Shengal Agreement and the attacks are a fundamental part of this strategy. The Barzanis, who run the KDP, are also willing partners in these attacks against the Kurds.”

No one can stop us

The KDP withdrew its 12,000-strong force with an instruction, leaving the Yazidi of Shengal face to face with genocide, said Amara Serêkaniyê, adding that the KDP even left weapons to ISIS to attack the Yazidis. "The YPG-YPJ opened a corridor from Rojava to war and reached Shengal. We were faced with a terrible situation. ISIS had killed our Yazidi people. The corpses were all over the place. Many mothers threw themselves off the rocks to avoid falling into the hands of ISIS. It was a very sad sight indeed. When we saw that scene, no one could stop us against ISIS. It is the same today. If an attack is carried out against Shengal, no one can stop us.”

They fail Shengal

Amara Serêkaniyê said, “The KDP is not the owner of Shengal, it is the one who betrayed the people of Shengal. It is the one who caused ISIS to buy and sell Yazidi women as slaves. It is trying to leave our people defenseless by attacking the HPG guerrillas, who are the defense forces of the Kurdish people. I repeat: Attacking Shengal is attacking all Kurds.”

Amara Serekaniyê finally addressed the peshmerga: “I think the peshmerga must not accept the dirty plans and attacks in Shengal and Medya Defense Areas. Peshmerga withdrew following orders in 2014. This situation embarrasses the peshmerga even today. The peshmerga should not be a partner in the plans the KDP has for Shengal plan and should not accept to be drag into implementing another shameful plan. Like us, they must take a clear stand in the face of this dirty plan.”