For Syrian Kurds, lost dreams and a betrayal that stings

Hamid Khalaf knows all too well that his sister, a Kurdish politician in northern Syria, was killed in cold blood.

The video footage taken just moments before she was executed by Turkish-backed militiamen has been widely circulated. Thirteen seconds into the video, you hear the voice of Hafrin Khalaf identifying herself as a political party leader.

A medical report captures the brutality of what ensued: She was shot multiple times and dragged violently by the hair.

For the agony that his sister experienced, Mr. Khalaf, a resident of Switzerland for a dozen years, blames the president of the United States and his abrupt decision to pull out of Syria.

“The United States is responsible for what is happening in northeast Syria,” he says, sitting in the living room of his apartment in Bern. “America is specifically responsible for the death of my sister because the decision to withdraw

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