MONTREAL -- Demonstrations gathered in Montreal Saturday to protest Turkey's incursion into northeast Syrian, warning of humanitarian disaster and US strategic folly.
Members of the Kurdish community in Montreal (Fondation Kurde Du Québec) and their allies, including members of the local Armenian community, say the attack could disrupt the stability of a fragile region and hinder progress against the Islamic State (Daesh).
The Turkish military offensive against the Kurdish militia came after US President Donald Trump abruptly decided last week that US troops would not intervene, a radical change in US foreign policy.
Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria, which has attracted numerous condemnations internationally and in the United States, is widely regarded as an abandonment of Syrian Kurdish fighters who were the only allies in Syria fighting the Islamic State.
Beritan Oerde, an organizer with the Kurdish Foundation of Quebec, says she hopes the downtown demonstration will help put pressure on governments and international institutions to take stronger action.
"Sometimes we feel very far away but that doesn't matter. Any type of voice from across the world sometimes puts pressure on institutions and governments," said Oerde, a political science student at Concordia University.
