International

San Diego Kurdish Leader: Pulling US Troops Out Of Syria Could Lead To 'Genocide'

By John Carroll / General Assignment Reporter & Anchor

Published October 8, 2019 at 11:15 AM PDT

This story was published more than 5 years ago.

U.S. soldiers gather for a brief during a combined joint patrol rehearsal in Manbij, Syria, in November 2018.

San Diego County is home to one of the largest Kurdish communities in the United States. One local Kurdish leader says the Trump Administration's decision to pull American troops from northern Syria could lead to a "genocide" against the Kurds.

Over the weekend, the Trump Administration issued an announcement that it would pull American troops out of Syria. The Americans have been fighting alongside Kurdish troops for years in the effort to destroy ISIS and its Caliphate.

A local Kurdish leader said on Tuesday that the decision spells disaster for all Kurds in the region. That's because neighboring Turkey sees the Kurds, who've been fighting for independence from Turkey for decades, as terrorists. It's feared the administration's decision will give the green light to Turkey to massacre the Kurds.

San Diego County is home to as many as 5,000 Kurds, according to some estimates.

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Chinar Binavi, the former head of the Kurdish Community Center of San Diego, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to discuss the Trump administration's pullout decision in Syria.