Zero Hour in Rakka

 

By Jerko Bakotin and Nikola Kuprešanin, produced by Büro Belgrad

 

 

0:02

 

They have beaten IS: Kurdish woman fighters.

 

Behind the front lines in Raqqa, they are guarding a supply point.

 

0:12

 

A civilian supplier brings rations for their comrades on the front.

 

 

0:18

 

Relationships between men and women in the Kurdish units are not allowed – officially.

 

0:27

 

However - they have defeated IS. Together.

 

 

Title: Zero Hour – The Kurds after the Battle for Rakka

 

0:44

 

A place of refuge for the soldiers. For weeks they have been in Raqqa fighting IS – or Daesh, as they scornfully call them.

 

Booby traps, mines, suicide bombers, nightmares – and daily routing on the front line.

 

Rosul is the platoon commander – the head of this women’s unit.

The battle for Raqqa is also a battle for women.

 

1:05

 

Lower: Rosel Amanus, Platoon Commander, YPJ

 

“We are fighting here today for every woman in the world. So that the entire world knows that women can fight against barbarians like IS. All women are therefore taking part in the battle for Raqqa.”

 

1:23

 

Rosul’s women are deployed at the very front:

They are relaying target coordinates to the US Air Force.

 

American air support: decisive for the victory of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

 

A coalition of Kurds, Christians and Arabs.

 

((OT auf, Kurdinnen sprechen))

 

1:50

 

The IS terrorists are holding the stadium in Raqqa for as long as possible.

 

1:56

 

Lower: Rosel Amanus, Platoon Commander, YPJ

 

“We always have our GPS. Each group has at least one. When we encounter resistance or something isn’t quite right, we send over the GPS coordinates. It’s how we let everybody know that IS fighters are massing at a certain point, or that there is a larger attack coming. We look at the GPS and send the coordinates by radio.”

 

2:25

 

Right on the front line. A district of Raqqa that has just been taken over: deserted, ravaged, the people gone.

 

A position very near the IS positions.

 

A brief lull in the fighting.

This German volunteer is supporting the Kurds as a sniper.

He has a military background. He won’t tell us any more about himself.

 

2:512

 

Lower: “Robin”, German sniper, YPG

 

“You hear so much in the news about IS, and terror attacks in Europe – I just thought somebody has to do it.”

 

3:00

 

He and his group move mostly at night:

 

3:07

 

Lower: “Robin”, German sniper, YPG

 

“We are a sniper team – three men. We usually go into a high building, and look for three of four firing positions to work from during the day, when they are running around in the streets and we can do our job easily.”

 

3:24

 

In Raqqa, IS is practically destroyed. However, grenades still come from nowhere. The front continues for around 300 metres.

 

3:31

 

Lower: “Robin”, German sniper, YPG

 

“They were very, very close yesterday – they barged in down there. You can even see it. We have no idea where they will come from, because every time they start shooting, they all run off to the farthest corners – and yes, if it starts again today, we’ll go up onto the roof: we think they are behind there and using that position to fire at us. But we can’t do anything.”

 

4:00

 

Shots fired in an ambush. The fighting continues.

The terrorists have nothing left to lose, and they are shooting at anything that moves.

 

4:07

 

The driver just wants to get away from the front. Immediately.

 

4:19

 

 

The battle for Raqqa will soon be over.

But what about after the victory?

 

4:26

 

Before the war, it was mainly Arabs living in Raqqa.

Now, the Kurds control the area.

 

4:35

 

The Civil Council in Raqqa is a type of Arab local government.

Reconstruction is seemingly beginning with paperwork.

However, IS rule has completely destroyed the structure of the city:

 

4:50

 

Lower: Jala Hamzawi, Civil Council, Rakka

 

"We will welcome all our families that come back after being banished by IS. Whether it is Kurds, Arabs or Armenians who have suffered under the dark views of IS. They all have a yearning. Everybody who has fled Raqqa yearns for the liberation of the city – and to return. We will welcome them all.

 

However, the challenges are immense: exile, those returning from Europe, those who have been influenced by IS, those who have been forcibly driven out. We will welcome everybody”.

 

 

5:40

 

Traditional forms of political dialogue are being resurrected.

Like this Arab council of elders at the Civil Council in Raqqa.

 

5:43

 

Qamishli. A political centre of Rojava.

 

5:57

 

Here you can see who is really in charge:

The supporters of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.

However spontaneous this short demonstration for the camera is.

 

6:12

 

Lower: Suriya Jemal, resident of Qamishli

 

“We love Apo, Abdullah Öcalan, because he has done humanitarian work. He has stood up for all nations, especially for the oppressed, and that is why we love him. That is why he has a special place in our hearts. He has done a lot for the working class, for poor people, and he has fought for equal rights. He is a democratic person, and that is also why we love him. He is an honest person.”

 

6:48

 

Television in Rojava.

A political channel close to the dominant party.

Linked to Abdullah Öcalan’s PKK.

 

7:03

 

Taha Khalil is one of the most important faces on Ronahi TV.

He denies the influence of the PKK on the Kurdish parts of Syria.

He said this is an allegation made by Turkey.

 

7:24

 

Lower: Taha Khalil, author and poet

 

“Turkey will always find a reason to wage war against the Kurds. Is Marsud Barzani a member of PKK? No, he is not. When the Kurds in southern Kurdistan, or North Iraq as some say, spoke about the referendum, the first to comment was Erdogan. He said ‘not while I’m around’. Nor is Barzani PKK, I’m not PKK… One thing Erdogan said: ‘I am against Kurdistan, even it if is in Argentina’”.

 

8:08

 

It needs political acrobatic to explain the American air support for the left-wing, self-governed Rojava. No problem, Taha Khalil says: It’s the fight against IS. But after the defeat of IS, the Americans could pull pack.

 

8:30

 

Lower: Taha Khalil, author and poet

 

“That’s politics. If America turns around and says ‘we’re not on your side” – okay. We set ourselves up at the beginning without the help of the US. None at all. The Americans are free, and we will continue to fight IS. We’re not fighting IS for the Americans or for the West, but for us. Because IS stands against our principles, because IS stands against humanity. And we are trying to bring people together and create something human.”

 

9:08

 

Back to Raqqa, at the rear of a women’s unit.

 

The Kurdish militias are trained by the Syrian offshoot of the PKK – considered a terrorist organisation by US ally Turkey.

 

There are also woman fighters from abroad volunteering to fight.

Kimberly Taylor came to Rojava as a journalist. Drawn in by the ideology and the fact that IS is almost done.

 

9:35

 

Lower: Kimberly Taylor, British volunteer, YPJ

 

"For a long time on the Raqqa front, there has been no resistance. And when there as been, or when they tried to do an attack, then they really lost a lot of moral. Like someone who's supposed to believe, if you die then you go to heaven, as a djihad fighter, you would think there is no reason to stop, but they are stopping. You can see that the moral is low. They know they've lost Raqqa. It's really effected how they fight and the numbers of them they are fighting and how long they are fight for before they run away or just blow themselves up. Even I've seen a few times how they came out with their hands up, saying we give up, we won't fight. We are taking them as prisoners."

 

((English: IS-Kämpfer sind kur vor der dem Aufgaben))

 

10:28

 

The thought of being defeated by the Kurdish woman fighters mortifies the IS terrorists. It is a nightmare to be beaten by self-confident women.

But even after the victory in Raqqa, this world war will continue on a small scale.

Ultimately, the Kurds fend for themselves – despite being an ally of the USA.

 

10:46

 

Lower: Kimberly Taylor, British volunteer, YPJ

 

"I don't expect anything from America. They have an agenda now to stop Daesch. And they are using us for this. It's also our military agenda as well, this is why we agreed, but after this they don't have a reason to help us at all."

 

 

11:10

 

Lower: Rosel Amanus, Platoon Commander, YPJ

 

Do you think we’re scared?

 

We’re not scared of anybody. Even before America began supporting us, we were fighting this war.

 

Even if the USA or the world goes against us, we have the power to wage this war against IS. Everybody should know that as Kurds, as people who live on this planet, we will fight until we have gained our human rights and got what we deserve.”

 

 

11:50

 

A bit of peace in the middle of the war.

 

Young women, some not even twenty years old.

They are closer than ever to military victory.

 

But the political goal – freedom and autonomy – will be decided by others: the superpowers.