Latest news with #EasternSyria
The National
7 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Syrian President and Kurdish militia leader fail to meet during US envoy's Damascus visit
President Ahmad Al Shara and a Syrian Kurdish militia leader failed to meet as expected on Wednesday during a visit to Damascus by US special envoy Thomas Barrack, sources said. It was a setback to US-sponsored moves to resolve the biggest obstacle to reuniting Syria after its 13-year civil war. The sources did not reveal why the meeting in Damascus did not go ahead between Mr Al Shara and Mazloum Abdi, the head of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia that controls large swathes of eastern Syria. The two men were expected to discuss ways to bring the SDF under the control of the Syria army command. 'We are more far away from a grand bargain,' an SDF official told The National. Mr Barrack held a meeting with Mr Al Shara, state media said, without revealing details of their discussions. The SDF official said Mr Abdi had gone to Damascus confident that there would be no 'sidelining of the SDF'. The official said the SDF has been buoyed by the Pentagon's allocation of $130 million for groups in Syria with which it has partnered in counter-ISIS operations, mainly the SDF, in its 2026 budget. US backing for the SDF has prevented Mr Al Shara from consolidating his control over the country since the ousting of his predecessor Bashar Al Assad in December. The March 10 agreement between Mr Al Shara and Mr Abdi faltered after the SDF convened a conference of Kurdish political groups in April that demanded that Syria be governed under a federal system. 'It is neither in the interest of Al Shara or any of the international players for the SDF to weaken, because it would mean the resurgence of ISIS,' the official said. He said Mr Barrack had proposed that the SDF becomes formally part of the Syrian armed forces but retains its Kurdish commanders, a 'symbolic' arrangement akin to Syrian armed groups that are proxies of Turkey joining the army in February. Many of these units retained their command structure and their Turkmen commanders. However, the SDF's position as Washington's main ally in Syria has been undermined after US began normalising ties with its new government in May, and putting more focus on stabilising the country. The US lifted sanctions on Syria last month and on Monday revoked the terror designation of the hardline Hayat Tahrir Al Sham rebel group, a former affiliate of Al Qaeda, to which Mr Al Shara and many members of the new government belonged. Turkey, a major backer of Mr Al Shara's government, considers the SDF a separatist group that threatens its national security, because of its ties with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which waged a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state. Turkey is involved in a process to disarm and dissolve the PKK. Omer Ozkizilcik, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the US was using its sway to urge the SDF to accept integration into Damascus-controlled armed forces. 'The March 10 agreement was not proceeding due to stalling by the SDF,' he told The National. 'It appears that the US is using its influence to move things forward and force the SDF to accommodate the demands of Damascus. 'Both Damascus and Ankara, which has significant influence over the new Syrian authorities, had given the SDF 'olive branches', including some form of local governance,' Mr Ozkizilcik said. 'But they thought they are in a position to dictate terms.'
The National
02-06-2025
- General
- The National
Under pressure, Kurdish militia resumes integration talks with Damascus
The mostly Kurdish militia that controls large parts of eastern Syria is seeking to resurrect an integration deal with Damascus following moves by the US, its main backer, to bolster the authority of the new central government established by the former rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS). The March 10 agreement faltered after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-backed militia, convened a conference of Kurdish political groups in April that demanded that Syria be governed under a federal system. However, the SDF's position has been undermined by the recent Turkish and Saudi-brokered rapprochement between Washington and the HTS-led government in Damascus. The SDF-dominated administration in the east "supports Syria's unity and sovereignty", the Kurdish delegation said in a statement issued after a meeting with Syrian officials in Damascus on Sunday. The statement said that there would be another round of talks soon, but it did not specify a date. The statement made no reference to the future of the SDF, which seeks to remain a separate unit rather than being absorbed into the new Syrian armed forces of the Damascus government. The secular SDF is the second-most powerful faction in Syria, after HTS, the religious armed group that led the rebel offensive that toppled former dictator Bashar Al Assad in December. Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara is also the leader of HTS. Restoring control of the east to the central authorities would further strengthen Mr Al Shara, whose international acceptance as Syria's new leader received a major boost after his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia last month. The US special envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack, a close Trump ally who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkey, met Mr Al Shara in Damascus last week and announced that Washington would lift Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. He said the US would "give this young government a chance by not interfering, not demanding, by not giving conditions". The Kurdish delegation said they also discussed the thorny issue of returning displaced people to the east during the talks on Sunday. Many among the three million population of the area were forcibly displaced after Kurdish militias who were forerunners of the SDF captured the area from the Assad regime starting in 2012, the year after the start of an uprising against the former president. The Kurdish militias expelled thousands of Arab families but many Kurds were also forced to leave after Turkey carved out a zone of control in the area in 2018. The two sides agreed to explore "mechanisms to facilitate the return of displaced persons to their areas and addressing the obstacles hindering this return". They also agreed to reactivate an agreement for Damascus security forces to enter a mostly Kurdish neighbourhood in the northern city of Aleppo, the Kurdish delegation said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
One SDF Fighter Killed in Attack by ISIS in Eastern Syria
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a group led by Kurdish fighters, said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by ISIS in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor region. The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated ISIS in 2019 after the group seized swathes of Syria and Iraq. The SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government, now led by former opposition groups that toppled President Bashar al-Assad last year. Syria's new authorities have clashed with ISIS fighters, particularly in the east. Last month ISIS killed five SDF fighters in one of the deadliest recent attacks against the group.
Arab News
18-05-2025
- Arab News
At least 3 killed in blast targeting police station in eastern Syria
CAIRO: At least three people were killed when a blast targeted a police station in the eastern Syrian town of Al-Mayadeen on Sunday, the state news agency said, citing a security source. The explosion also injured several people, the report said, without providing further details.
Al Arabiya
18-05-2025
- Al Arabiya
At least three killed in blast targeting police station in eastern Syria
At least three people were killed when a blast targeted a police station in the eastern Syrian town of al-Mayadeen on Sunday, the state news agency said, citing a security source. The explosion also injured several people, the report said, without providing further details.
