ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Francois Hollande, the former president of France who committed his nation’s military forces to the global anti-ISIS coalition, says the US decision to withdraw from northern Syria is a “big mistake” as it risks allowing a Turkish attack on Syria’s Kurds and the reemergence of ISIS.
Speaking at the Shifa Gardi International Award ceremony at Erbil’s Rotana Hotel on Monday night, Hollande said it is vital the coalition continues to coordinate with its Kurdish and Iraqi allies.
He was especially critical of the “hasty” White House decision in December to withdraw the 2,000 US troops currently stationed in Kurdish-held northern Syria.
“US President Donald Trump’s decision about the withdrawal of their troops in Syria in this way is hasty,” Hollande said. “It will have a bad impact. I am sure that this decision of Donald Trump’s is a very big mistake.”
Ankara has threatened to launch a new offensive against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which it accuses of fostering ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The US presence in Manbij was seen as an insurance policy for the Kurds against such an attack.
“At the same time, I am concerned about the current conflict in Syria. Turkey has become a threat to Syrian Kurds. Daesh may exploit any conflict there by carrying out suicide attacks and explosions,” Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group (ISIS).
“Therefore, we have to be very careful. We cannot say that Daesh has ended and we have defeated it. It continues to be a threat and may reemerge at any time. It is a characteristic of the Middle East that terrorist groups reemerge,” he added.
Under Hollande’s leadership, France committed ground and air forces to support anti-ISIS operations in both Iraq and Syria. The government of Emmanuel Macron, Hollande’s successor, has pledged not to follow the US with an early drawdown.
“We all have to coordinate not only to overcome the war but also to bring out peace and stability,” said Hollande. “The first decision that shall be made is the reconstruction of liberated areas and institutions. We have to try to let people live in stability and peace and they should be able to own their own decisions in the community.”
Hollande used his speech at the Rudaw event to highlight his support for the Kurdistan Region and the Peshmerga while in office.
“When Daesh neared Erbil, I was in there. It was very necessary to make an international decision in favor of supporting Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. In 2014, we as France expressed our full support for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in order to conduct a rapid response to Daesh attacks,” he said.
“I revisited Erbil in 2017 when the Peshmerga had pushed back Daesh. The situation was very dire. I visited front lines along with President Barzani and we looked at Mosul from a kilometre distance. We saw the shelling of the city.”
“I came back today, this time, to the heart of Mosul – a liberated yet completely destroyed city. Most of western Mosul is devastated. A large number of important archeological places have been destroyed.”
“Therefore, today we reiterate that the international coalition against Daesh has to continue in order for the reconstruction of Iraq, particularly Mosul. UNESCO will have many campaigns for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of buildings and the archeological places which were destroyed by Daesh.”
Hollande concluded by thanking Kurdish forces and the Region’s former president, Masoud Barzani, for their role in defeating ISIS.
“I thank President Barzani for his role and the Peshmerga for their hard work in fighting Daesh. We worked together with the Peshmerga, Iraqi forces, and the coalition,” he said.
“Today, we are delighted to see Daesh defeated. However, there should always be a fear of the resurrection of this terrorist organization under another name, group, and organization,” Hollande warned.
The former French president presented the Shifa Gardi International Award to journalist Jenna Moussa for her reporting on the ground across Iraq, Syria, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Rudaw reporter Shifa Gardi was killed by an IED while covering the Mosul offensive in 2017. The Award was created in her memory.