Source: nEWS.COM.AU
MATTHEW Gardiner – the vanished Darwin politico – has joined Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, a rebel group has confirmed to the NT News.
Mr Gardiner vanished from Darwin last week and was believed to be heading to join Kurdish forces fighting against Islamic State. The Australian Federal Police are investigating his disappearance.
A spokesman for the People’s Defence Units – the national army of Syrian Kurdistan known as the YPG – confirmed the rumours.
The NT News contacted the YPG’s media centre through the Facebook recruitment page: The Lions of Rojava. “Yes he is joined YPG,” the spokesman said.
The Lions of Rojava page is understood to be a key recruitment tool for foreign fighters wishing to join Kurdish forces involved in the Syrian conflict. The most recent fighting has occurred near Kobane, a Kurdish city under attack from ISIS and reportedly liberated in recent days.
Mr Gardiner is understood to have bought a ticket to the United Arab Emirates and was due to arrive on January 19.
It is unclear whether he reached the UAE or disembarked part-way through his journey. Security experts have told the NT News his most likely path to join freedom fighters in Syrian Kurdistan would be through Iraq.
Turkey lies to the near north of conflict zones in Syria, but the Kurdish Workers Party is considered a terrorist organisation in Turkey and people wanting to join the conflict are advised to avoid those borders.
A source with knowledge of other foreigners who had joined the YPG said Mr Gardiner would most likely have made his way to the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah or possibly Erbil, which are accessible on direct flights from several cities in the Middle East and Europe.
Originally published as Gardiner weeds out ISIS with KurdsLink: http://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/matthew-gardiner-confirmed-to-be-fighting-islamic-state-with-kurds/story-fnn3gfdo-1227203073161.
No comments:
Post a Comment