Against Bayırbucak, some Russian, some Baath, some some other curse

In the Bayır-Bucak region of Syria, where the Turkmen live in large numbers, the operations carried out by forces loyal to the Assad regime, supported by Russian warplanes as well, particularly around the villages of Derhanne, Kızıldağ and Fırınlık, continue with increasing intensity.

There is concern that a prolonged clash in the Kızıldağ region, which would give the regime forces a significant military advantage, or the fall of the region to the Assad regime, could create a new wave of migration toward Turkey. More importantly, there is fear of mass executions that could be carried out in areas that come under the control of the Assad regime.

In fact, the region known as Türkmendağı is not a single mountain but a mountainous region. It is therefore quite difficult to obtain a definitive result in a day or two. Moreover, despite attacking with all its might and with the support of Russian warplanes, the Assad regime has been able to make progress far below what it expected. Yet the commanders of the bloody-handed dictator Assad had been working for the past month on this plan, hoping to obtain a result in a short time.

To seize this strategic region in the north of the country, the Assad regime first moved toward Aleppo, causing a significant part of the opposition groups' forces to shift to Aleppo. Then the Assad forces, heading to Türkmendağı with a second army, cut the connection between the opposition forces shifted toward Aleppo and Türkmendağı, and planned to seize Türkmendağı, which they thought was left unprotected, in a short time. However, it can be said that the plan in Assad's palace of oppression has, for now, not suited Türkmendağı.

According to the latest information from the field, the regime forces, which have captured Gimam, Zuveyk Village and the Acısu Junction, have not been able to bring under control Kızıldağ, which is 5 kilometers from Turkey and has strategic importance as the highest elevation in the region.

Mehmet Ali Öztürk, President of the Bayır-Bucak Türkmen Dağı Culture, Education and Solidarity Association, underlines the importance of the developments by stating that the opposition groups defending Türkmendağı see the defense here as a Second Çanakkale and have repeated that they will absolutely not withdraw.

The Assad regime stated clearly last year that it was having difficulty recruiting soldiers. It is a long-known situation that the Assad regime has been meeting its need for soldiers from Shiite mercenaries brought from countries such as Afghanistan and Iran, and that the military structures that have been formed are commanded by Iranian generals or lower-ranking officers. In other words, the Assad regime is striving to ensure its continued existence by turning the matter into an identity issue and the ongoing clashes into sectarian conflict. This situation could open the way to dangerous developments not only in Syria but in the region.

It can be said that Turkey's responsible policies, having seen from the first day that such a danger existed in the region, have so far prevented this danger from growing. Turkey hosted all elements who fled the oppression of Assad, DAESH or the PYD-YPG and piled up at Turkey's borders wanting to secure their lives. To those who could not come to Turkey, it made serious efforts to deliver aid supplies despite all the obstacles. In this framework Turkey has not held back from extending a helping hand to the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen whenever they needed it.

Even as all these developments take place, Turkey is still accused of not helping the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen and Türkmendağı. It is astonishing to see that those who blocked the trucks carrying aid to the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen, organized by the Parallel Gang, are the ones raising the outcry today that the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen are not being helped.

Moreover, these people spread such intellectual terror that, for example, those who express an opinion about the terrorist attack in Mali are declared traitors in a single stroke.

While Turkey has for a long time been stating in international forums that the Assad regime's next target is the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen and that the Assad regime is carrying out systematic massacres of civilians inside Syria, the fact that those who accuse Turkey of interfering in Syria's internal affairs can now speak about the attack on the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen and Türkmendağı is an indication of their insincerity and of how they evaluate politics and international politics with cheap logic.

If you type the word Türkmendağı into social media sites, you can see what kind of hatred toward the Ottoman legacy is being spewed via the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen. Moreover, you can witness with astonishment with what kind of sectarian grudge those who accuse the AK Parti government of "sectarianism" applaud the salvos of Russian warplanes aimed at the Bayır-Bucak Turkmen.

Those who think they will prosper through Assad's oppression are making a great mistake. It must be known that the oppression directed today at the Turkmen in Syria, at Sunni Arabs, and at Kurds who are not on the same line as the PYD-YPG will turn tomorrow against those who supported this oppression. For, "whoever prospers through oppression ends in ruin."