{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='PYD chief on the battle for Raqqa' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d2a8d8eafeecae1e3861' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d2a8d8eafeecae1e3861' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nPYD chief on the battle for Raqqa\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eLEAD IN:The leader of the main Kurdish party in Syria believes that a meaningful attempt to liberate Raqqa from militants may happen fairly soon. STORY-LINE: The French senate on Friday evening. A conference is being held that marks the...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eLEAD IN:The leader of the main Kurdish party in Syria believes that a meaningful attempt to liberate Raqqa from militants may happen fairly soon. STORY-LINE: The French senate on Friday evening. A conference is being held that marks the 100th anniversary of the Sykes-Picot agreement. In 1916, during World War I, France and Britain secretly ratified the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which concerned postwar partitioning of Arab lands held by the Ottoman Empire.Under the agreement, France would take most of modern Syria and Lebanon. Britain was to take what is now Iraq and Jordan. Parts of modern Israel were to be administered jointly by France, Britain and Russia.Militants from the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group amongst others have over the last few years expressed a desire to change these century-old borders and establish a \"caliphate\" through parts of Iraq and Syria, with Raqqa as its capital. Forces thwarting the militants include the Kurdish peshmerga and the protection units of the YPG and YPJ. Saleh Muslim, the co-president of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the main Kurdish party in Syria, declares that \"possibly very soon the attack on Raqqa will be officially launched.\" It will be done by local forces, supported by the Kurdish YPG militias, he says. Muslim added his belief that Turkish intervention in Syria has delayed the annihilation of the IS group - also known as Daesh -  and prevented a territorial unity of the Kurdish areas. \"Turkey has intervened to save Daesh from perishing,\" he says.  In Aleppo, the Kurdish districts are a safe-heaven.\"The situation has improved. They (the Kurds) were able to conquer areas like El-Bustan Bacha and they are facilitating at this moment the return of civilians who lived there. Thanks to this protection by the (Kurdish) people's protection units and its allies, tens of thousands have found refuge in this area. Arabs, the inhabitants of Aleppo, inhabitants of other districts, Turkmen, Armenians and Christians live in these districts today,\" he explains in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.On Saturday Brita Hagi Hasan the mayor of East-Aleppo and Riyad Hijab, coordinator of Syrian opposition were received by the French Foreign Affairs Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi, Qatari, Emirate and Turkish ambassadors.Saleh Muslim was hosted by French senators. Also on Saturday US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter announced that an additional 200 US soldiers would be dispatched to Syria to accelerate the push on Raqqa. The 200, to include special operations troops, are in addition to 300 already authorised for the effort to recruit, organise, train and advise local Syrian Arab and Kurdish forces to fight IS.Kurds fear the Assad regime might fight them when the jihadists are defeated, but \"that depends on the pressure of Russia and the US on Assad,\" said a PYD official in Paris who wanted to remain anonymous. AP TelevisionParis - 9 December 20161. Pan shot of French senate 2. Wide of conference inside French senate on theme \"100 years after the Sykes-Picot pact, a Kurdish project for the Middle East\". 3. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saleh Muslim, co-president of PYD, Party of the Democratic Union Party:\"The Kurdish forces there (in Aleppo), the people's protection units YPG or the women's protection units YPJ are only there to protect. These are defence forces, not in any way offensive forces. They protect the area and protect the entire people living in these areas against the mercenaries or against the Syrian regime. And now the situation has improved. They (the Kurds) were able to conquer areas like El-Bustan Bacha and they are facilitating at this moment the return of civilians who lived there. Thanks to this protection by the (Kurdish) peoples protection units and its allies, tens of thousands have found refuge in this area. Arabs, the inhabitants of Aleppo, inhabitants of other districts, Turkmen, Armenians and Christians live in these districts today.\" 4. Pan of conference 5. Camera and speaker at conference 6. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saleh Muslim, co-president of PYD, Democratic Union Party:\"About Raqqa, it is very important for us in Rojava and the north of Syria and it (Raqqa) must be liberated from Daesh (Islamic State group) and the other salafist jihadist forces. We have common goals and interests with the International Coalition and that's why a common plan has been elaborated. This liberation will happen in stages. The first stage is to siege the city. This stage is almost ended by the militias. Possibly very soon the launching of the second phase will be declared after having ended the preparation of the force for Raqqa. These will essentially be locals, soldiers originally from the city of Raqqa. They will advance to liberate Raqqa with the aid of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the International Coalition.\"7. Wide of conference 8. Close of Saleh Muslim at conference 9. Mid of Saleh Muslim at conference 10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saleh Muslim, co-president of PYD, Democratic Union Party:The Syrian Democratic Forces, including the YPG (Peoples Defence Units) are not only there to defend the Kurds. They are part of a Syrian democratic force aiming to liberate the whole of Syria. That's why these forces have to be there where they are. And the Turkish intervention is done under the pretext that the (Kurdish) forces want to continue their progress to create an area in the north of Syria, a Kurdish area with a territorial continuity. But that's not the truth at all. Turkey has intervened to save Daesh from perishing. The Syrian Democratic Forces together with the international alliance, is the alliance that has inflicted defeats to Daesh, and therefore they want to continue their progress. They (the Turks) intervened to hinder this and to maintain their proximity with Daesh, and they succeeded in that. It (the Turkish intervention) is that what delayed the affair of Raqqa, the liberation of Raqqa.\"11. Pan to Saleh Muslim at conference 12. Tilt up of journalist writing 13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Saleh Muslim, co-president of PYD, Democratic Union Party:\"There is a brutal war going on in Halab (Aleppo), it's a dirty war, really, because those people, I mean, over there, those groups, Jabal al-Nusra and affiliated groups Ahrar al-Sham and Zenki their mentality is the same as Daesh, but maybe their names are different. They are using those civilians as shields, as human shields to protect themselves, they don't allow them to come and go back. And the regime and the others, I mean the regime's alliances bombing in the area, so they don't make a difference between the civilians and those armed people, those brutals.\"14. 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