The clashes continued Are PKK-Linked terrorists fighting alongside Armenia in occupied Karabakh
- 4 years ago
The Armenian-run Nubar Ozanyan Brigade was formed under the leadership of the YPG, the Syrian wing of the terrorist PKK. Some sources suggest its members are moving to the occupied Karabakh to fight Azerbaijanis.
Since the recent clashes in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in an Armenian-occupied region, several political actors from Russia to France and Iran have implicitly or explicitly shown their support to Armenia.
But beyond established states, experts think Yerevan is receiving even more support against the Azerbaijanis from some terror groups, primarily the PKK, which has long been connected with armed Armenian groups like the Asala, which assassinated Turkish diplomats during the 1970s and 1980s across the world.
In Syria, the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK, is operating with US backing, using various armed militias including the Nubar Ozanyan Brigade (or Battalion), an Armenian-run group with strong ties to Yerevan and some of Turkey’s most extreme illegal communist groups like TIKKO.
Most recently, some reports have suggested that the Nubar Ozanyan Brigade might move to the occupied-Karabakh region to fight Azerbaijan state forces, which have launched a military operation to claim back occupied territory from Armenia following Yerevan’s provocations.
If the PKK-linked brigade moves to the occupied-Karabakh region to fight Azerbaijani forces, it could possibly provoke a Turkish military response to prevent the terror group’s reach in another critical territory.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched several back-to-back operations against YPG/PKK terror groups across Syria and Iraq. The Turkish parliament is currently reviewing another government request to extend the authorisation to use the country’s military forces to launch cross-border operations in 2021.
What is the Nubar Ozanyan Brigade?
The militia, which appears to be based in Syria’s Qamishli according to sources, was named after Nubar Ozanyan, an ethnic Armenian, who was one of the leading commanders of TIKKO, a long time ally of the PKK.
Both TIKKO and PKK, which have been recognised as terror groups by Turkey, were established on Turkish soil. Both groups have launched decades-long terror campaigns against the Turkish state, leading to tens of thousands of deaths and enormous material losses.
The militia was established on April 24, 2019 by Armenian communists, who wanted to mark the death of Ozanyan in August 2017 during YPG terror groups' siege of Raqqa against Daesh terrorists.
While the group itself claims a Marxist-Leninist ideology, it was founded during a meeting in the Marziya Church in Tell Goran in northern Syria.
The brigade’s current leader, Nubar Melkonyan, who appears to have powerful connections, accepts that the militia receives foreign members from different countries.
Since the recent clashes in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in an Armenian-occupied region, several political actors from Russia to France and Iran have implicitly or explicitly shown their support to Armenia.
But beyond established states, experts think Yerevan is receiving even more support against the Azerbaijanis from some terror groups, primarily the PKK, which has long been connected with armed Armenian groups like the Asala, which assassinated Turkish diplomats during the 1970s and 1980s across the world.
In Syria, the YPG, the Syrian wing of the PKK, is operating with US backing, using various armed militias including the Nubar Ozanyan Brigade (or Battalion), an Armenian-run group with strong ties to Yerevan and some of Turkey’s most extreme illegal communist groups like TIKKO.
Most recently, some reports have suggested that the Nubar Ozanyan Brigade might move to the occupied-Karabakh region to fight Azerbaijan state forces, which have launched a military operation to claim back occupied territory from Armenia following Yerevan’s provocations.
If the PKK-linked brigade moves to the occupied-Karabakh region to fight Azerbaijani forces, it could possibly provoke a Turkish military response to prevent the terror group’s reach in another critical territory.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched several back-to-back operations against YPG/PKK terror groups across Syria and Iraq. The Turkish parliament is currently reviewing another government request to extend the authorisation to use the country’s military forces to launch cross-border operations in 2021.
What is the Nubar Ozanyan Brigade?
The militia, which appears to be based in Syria’s Qamishli according to sources, was named after Nubar Ozanyan, an ethnic Armenian, who was one of the leading commanders of TIKKO, a long time ally of the PKK.
Both TIKKO and PKK, which have been recognised as terror groups by Turkey, were established on Turkish soil. Both groups have launched decades-long terror campaigns against the Turkish state, leading to tens of thousands of deaths and enormous material losses.
The militia was established on April 24, 2019 by Armenian communists, who wanted to mark the death of Ozanyan in August 2017 during YPG terror groups' siege of Raqqa against Daesh terrorists.
While the group itself claims a Marxist-Leninist ideology, it was founded during a meeting in the Marziya Church in Tell Goran in northern Syria.
The brigade’s current leader, Nubar Melkonyan, who appears to have powerful connections, accepts that the militia receives foreign members from different countries.