American journalist making a documentary showcasing Turkey s relationship with ISIS and al-Nusra Front
Qamishli—North-Press Agency
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in early 2011, the visits of foreign journalists to Syria have increased, through legal and illegal ways, to cover the events and battles in the region, of which the city of Aleppo, its countryside and northern Syrian, were the areas of special focus and importance. Lindsey Snell is an American journalist who visited Syria 13 times, to cover the armed conflicts in several areas in Syria, and finally to work on a documentary film, upon which it focused on Turkey's relationship with the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS) and al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, al-Nusra Front.
Lindsey Snell told North-Press that the main reason for her entering into Syria at the beginning of 2014 was because of a recruitment of a Tunisian child within the ranks of ISIS, the spread of his news in the Tunisian media, and his family's anger for joining the terrorist group. “I had lots of personal relationships, which helped me to enter Kobani and work on lots of media material in the military field," the American journalist said.
According to Ms. Snell, she conveyed through her media materials the opinions of local civilians and the fighters of People's Protection Units (YPG) in Kobani, which revolved about Turkey's relationship with the entry of (ISIS) militants into the city and areas of northern Syria.
She noted that she was able to obtain some documents confirming Turkey's involvement in supporting radical Islamic groups, (ISIS) and al-Nusra Front, by some of the Jihadi-Salafi militants who were kept in detention centers under the control of the Autonomous Administration of northeastern Syria, and by ISIS women in al-Hawl camp, east of Hasakah.
Clips of her documentary, published on her account on Twitter, show statements by fighters narrating what they saw during their defense against the ongoing Turkish military invasion in north-eastern Syria, as she aims at showing the American people Turkey's support for ISIS, al-Nusra Front and other extremist groups, as Turkey opened its border for the terrorist Jihadi militants to enter Syria, that caused great waves of displacement among civilians, while "the U.S. remained silent towards these actions."
In 2016, through "personal relations with individuals who have contact with the Syrian government and the YPG,” whom Lindsey refused to mention their names, she was able to enter the region of Afrin, after hearing reports about Turkey's desire to launch a military invasion against the region.
"I filmed many of the events and massacres committed by the Turkish army against the local civilians," Lindsey stated, adding that this issue was the reason of being chased by Turkey.
The U.S. journalist, who was previously kidnapped by al-Nusra Front, explained that despite all the risks she's been through during her 13 frequent visits into Syria, her main goal was her work on a documentary film, documenting the connection between the Turkish regime and the Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Nusra Front.
The duration of the documentary, which she is working on, is about an hour and a half, she started at early August of last year, and it is scheduled to be premiered on a Canadian media outlet in February.