Kurds Clash With ISIS Supporters in SHEFFIELD, UK

Members of Britain’s Kurdish Community have clashed with ISIS supporters in the northern English city of Sheffield, according to the Times. The Kurds were said to be outraged when they saw Gaza protesters waving the black Islamic flag that is often linked with ISIS.

Many Kurds in the UK are refugees from Iraq, and they often have family members still living in the country. This means they get reports about what is happening with the ISIS advance and are, as a result, deeply concerned. When they saw the black flag, they were not willing to leave it unchallenged.

Sarwat Jaf, who witness the clash between the two groups, said: “They said they were helping the Palestinians and they waved a Palestinian flag, but after that they brought the Isis flag as well… The Kurdish people did not want that. They said that Isis are terrorists and are killing our people in Kurdistan.”

The incident was sufficiently serious to warrant the attention of five police officers and a helicopter. Two arrests were made for public order offences.

South Yorkshire Police broke up the incident, and claimed that the Kurds had mistook the black flag of Islam for the ISIS flag. There are a number of black flags used by various Muslim groups, most of which are also used by ISIS.

A police statement said: “The Gaza demonstrators were adamant that no offence was meant.” But Mr Jaf and his friends were unconvinced by the police. He claimed to have asked the protesters why they had brought the ISIS flag to the protest, they responded “it was nothing” which he said was a lie.

The scuffle is part of a wider backlash against the supporters of ISIS and Hamas in Britain. As previously reported on Breitbart London a group of Leeds United Football Club fans shouted racial abuse at some Gaza protesters on Saturday. They had to be held back by security at a pub in Euston as they shouted “f*ck off ragheads” to the protesters.

There was also a protest at Number 10 Downing Street yesterday organised by the Kurdish Cultural Centre. The group compared ISIS to the Nazis and called for the British government to supply weapons to the Peshmerga so they could defend Christians in Northern Iraq. 

The protest was also supported by the Pakistani Christian Association and some members of the English Defence League.

Although these protests are much smaller than those organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the groups involved do hope to grow them.

There is now widespread concern in Britain because of gains by ISIS in Northern Iraq. The British government has pledged to airlift refugees off Mount Sinjar, and the country has pledged humanitarian aid. There is now a debate about whether the Royal Air Force should join the Americans in airstrikes against ISIS.

Despite the brutality of jihadists in Iraq and Syria they do have supporters in Britain. A black flag was flown over a housing estate in Tower Hamlets last week. There was also a leafleting campaign in the centre of London supporting ISIS.