In recent days, many thousands of Syrian Kurds, seeking to escape persecution at the hands of Jihadists, have been crossing the border into the autonomous Kurdish area of northern Iraq. The houses of the Kurdish refugee are occupied by Arabs of different countries, a political activist in Syria told KDP’s official website.

Ibrahim Muslim, a political activist in Syrian Kurdistan told KDP’s official website that “most of the people in Kurdistan of Syria recently left the country and now their houses are occupied by Arab Islamists”

“They are not from Syria. Most of these Arab Islamists came with their families from Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Tunisia” he added.

In recent months, Al Nusra and ISIS have led a concerted and violent campaign to install their own independent Islamic "emirates" in the region. That was met with fierce opposition by the YPG, who responded by ejecting Islamist forces from the town of Ras al-Ain among other areas. Since then, anti-Kurdish rhetoric has reached fever pitch among Arab Islamists, with some mosques issuing fatwas (religious decrees) encouraging the wholesale slaughter of Kurds.

When they take control of an area, the Islamists often conduct what is essentially a pogrom against Kurds, looting and burning homes and businesses. Meanwhile, shipments of goods and produce into the area have all but ceased because of the fighting, with high inflation and food shortages resulting.