Latest news with #Kurdish
Shafaq News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
SDF, Syrian government trike preliminary deal in Amman
Shafaq News – Damascus The Syrian government, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and US Special Envoy Thomas Barrack reached preliminary agreements during recent talks in Amman, Kurdish officials confirmed on Wednesday. Officials from the Autonomous Administration told the Saudi Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath tv channel that the agreements included joint control of border crossings and the Tishrin Dam. However, discussions on prison facilities and oil fields were postponed to a later stage. The SDF expressed readiness to integrate into the Syrian army as an independent corps, though no specific timeline was set for the process, the sources noted, adding that the SDF insisted on maintaining its presence in its current areas of control. A follow-up meeting is expected in Paris on July 25 and will include French, American, and British officials, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, and SDF Commander, Mazloum Abdi. Earlier, Abdi and Syria's Transitional President, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, reached an agreement to integrate the SDF into the country's official military structure, transferring all its territories, border crossings, and oil fields while rejecting any calls for division.
Shafaq News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
SDF's Abdi in Paris for negotiations with Syrian government
Shafaq News – Paris The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazloum Abdi arrived in Paris on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with a Syrian government delegation, held under joint French and US oversight. A source close to the SDF told Shafaq News that Ilham Ahmed, Co-Chair of the Autonomous Administration's Department of Foreign Relations, accompanied Abdi alongside several senior officials from the administration. A meeting, overseen by several French officials and US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, will bring together the SDF delegation and a Syrian government team led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. According to the source, preparations for the meeting began days ago through the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are being held under the direct sponsorship of French President Emmanuel Macron. The talks aim to explore a potential agreement that would integrate the SDF and associated institutions into the structure of the Syrian state. Earlier, Kurdish officials revealed that the Syrian government, Abdi, and Barrack reached preliminary agreements during recent talks in the Jordanian capital, Amman. Officials from the Autonomous Administration told the Saudi Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath TV channel that the agreements included joint control of border crossings and the Tishrin Dam. However, discussions on prison facilities and oil fields were postponed to a later stage.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
NATO Nation Deploys Armoured Vehicles In Syria, Comes To Al-Sharaa's Rescue
Turkey has sent the first batch of armoured personnel carriers to Syria after Damascus sought help to strengthen its defence capacity following sectarian violence in Sweida and Israeli airstrikes. Turkish officials said Syria requested support against ISIS as well. Ankara is offering training, advisory, and technical support to Syria's interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, which Turkey backs against the Assad regime. Talks are ongoing for a defence agreement that may include Turkish bases in Syria, alongside efforts to integrate Kurdish SDF forces into Syria's national army. Read More
Memri
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Memri
For Jolani, The Kurds Are Next
Eight months after the fall of the Assad regime, Syria has plunged further into sectarian and ethnic violence. The U.S. policy of legitimizing and supporting the Syrian Interim Government with the intention of stabilizing the country, has so far failed; it has instead enabled the militias to carry out numerous massacres with full impunity and no accountability. The chaos resulting from the attack against the Alawite and Druze minorities by the government has now spread across Syria. Minorities are being systematically targeted with thousands of civilians killed, women abused, and forced into sexual slavery, and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Children massacred by Al-Nusra front, led by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, August 5, 2013 After Alawites And The Druze, The Kurds Are Next Recent remarks by Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Turkey and special envoy for Syria, in which he likened Al-Sharaa – a former ISIS and Al-Qaeda member – to George Washington,[1] and rejected federalism for Kurds and other minorities,[2] have been interpreted by the Syrian government as a green light to attack Syria's minorities. After deadly attacks against the Alawites, Druze, and Christians, the Kurds are now the next target of Syrian government backed by Turkey. Since Assad's fall, Turkish proxy forces have launched several large-scale attacks against the Kurds, committing unspeakable atrocities against civilians including massacres, rape, and sexual slavery. If the U.S. pressures the Kurds to disarm, they will face mass killings at the hands of Syrian government forces and Turkish-backed militias. The Kurds have been the most reliable ally of the U.S. in Syria for over a decade; they lost more than 11,000 fighters in the fight against ISIS. Kurdish forces are guarding approximately 9,000 battle-hardened ISIS terrorists in detention facilities, described as a "ticking time bomb" and "a terrorist army in detention" by U.S. officials.[3] There is no guarantee that the Syrian government would keep these terrorists imprisoned. If the Kurds lose control over Northeast Syria, the U.S. will not only lose a loyal partner in the fight against terrorism, but also risk an ISIS resurgence. "There Is No God But Allah, Kurds Are The Enemies Of Allah" Ahmed Al-Sharaa and his militia groups have a long history of takfiri[4] jihad against the Kurds in Syria, guided not by religious difference, as the majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but by their ethnic prejudices against the Kurds, who are not ethnically Arab. In 2013, sheikhs of the Al-Nusra Front led by Al-Sharaa (then Abu Muhammed Al-Jolani) issued the following fatwa against Kurds: "Kurds are kuffar [unbelievers] and killing Kurds, taking their women, plundering their property, and destroying their homes is just and fair."[5] In the first half of 2013, Al-Nusra Front, allied with ISIS and supported by Turkish forces, carried out brutal attacks across Kurdish regions. They burned Kurdish homes, killed civilians indiscriminately, and continued to kidnap many Kurds on a daily basis throughout Syria's Kurdish region, all with Turkish military support on the ground. Al-Nusra carried out numerous massacres of Kurds including approximately 450 people, mainly women and children in Tal Abyad, Tal Hassil, and Tal A'ran. Al-Nusra massacred 120 children and 330 men and women in the district of Tal Abyad on August 5, 2013. More than 1,200 Kurds, men and women, were abducted during this period.[6] In 2018-2019, Al-Sharaa's Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) militia (formerly Al-Nusra) participated in the ethnic cleansing of nearly 500,000 Kurds in northern Syria, particularly Afrin and Serekaniya, in systematic ethnic cleansing campaigns carried out by Turkey to change the demography of the region by settling Arabs, Turkmens, and families of foreign fighters in place of displaced Kurds.[7] Since Al-Sharaa declared himself president of Syria, a calculated and coordinated hate campaign has been launched against Kurds by Syrian media affiliated with the government and Turkish media, with the aim of fueling hatred and inciting violence against the Kurds. "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, a-l-Kurdī ʿaduw Allāh [There is no god but Allah, the Kurd is the enemy of Allah]" has become a popular sectarian and racist slogans chanted by supporters of Al-Sharaa.[8] Ethnic discrimination policies against Kurds have reached alarming levels. On July 21, 2025, Kurdish youths were arrested in Damascus for speaking Kurdish in public.[9] Between July 19-22, 2025, at least 25 Kurds, including underage girls, were abducted by Syrian government forces.[10] These anti-Kurd campaigns are widely seen as a preparatory stage for a military attack against the Kurds. By portraying Kurds as foreigners, saboteurs, Zionist agents, and enemies of the state, Syria and Turkey seek to rally around Arab and Turkic takfiri groups. Declaring Kurds "enemies of God" provides religious legitimacy for their murder and sexual enslavement. If the Syrian regime forces manage to occupy the Kurdish region, a full-scale genocide of Kurds and Christians is to follow in northern Syria. Turkey's Neo-Ottoman Ambitions: "The Road to Jerusalem Goes Through Damascus" The fall of Assad has effectively eliminated the influence of Iran and Russia in Syria, but it has conversely opened the door for Turkey to take control of the country and implement its neo-Ottoman colonial policies. Turkey's end goal is not a peaceful and prosperous Syria, but rather a centralized regime controlled by Ankara, which it can use as a launchpad to target Israel and destabilize the Middle East. While the Shiite "Axis of Resistance" led by Iran has been largely weakened, a new Sunni "Axis of Resistance" led by Turkey and funded by Qatar is emerging in Syria, which is, in the long run, anti-American, anti-Western, and anti-Israeli. Before the fall of Assad, the Kurdish forces were a major obstacle to IRGC expansionism in Syria due to their geographical position. Similarly, they are now a major obstacle for Turkey and Qatar's ambitions to form a Sunni coalition hostile to American and Israeli interests. Conclusion: Kurds And Other Minorities Demand Federalism In a recent interview U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack claimed, "I think all of the minority communities are smart enough to say, 'We're better off together, centralized.'"[11] This statement contradicts the consistent demands from minorities – Kurds, Alawites, Druzes, and Christians – for a decentralized, federal system, and an end to authoritarianism. Al-Sharaa's reliance on sectarian, extremist policies, have led to bloodbaths in large parts of Syria. As president of Syria, he has failed to meet U.S. expectations: Rather than guiding the country toward stability, his government has intensified repression against minorities and increased sectarian violence across Syria. Therefore, a new U.S. Syria policy is needed to prevent further sectarian and ethnic bloodshed, to prioritize a federal system that gives communities control over their regions. On top of that, Turkey must be prevented from dominating Syria and use it a staging ground to destabilize the region and undermine U.S. interests. The U.S. must continue to support the Kurds in Northern Syria who control around 30 percent of the country. If the U.S. abandons the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) coalition, it will not only betray a loyal partner, it will also lose its foothold in Syria and risk the creation of an anti-American Sunni "Axis of Resistance." *Himdad Mustafa is special advisor to MEMRI's Kurdish Studies Project.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Iraqi small boat migrant wins appeal to stay in Britain because he's the divorcee of a 'prominent politician'
An Iraqi migrant who entered the UK illegally by boat has won an appeal after arguing he can't be deported because he's a divorcee. The migrant won the appeal at the immigration court after saying he can't return to Iraq because of a divorce he went through in his home country. In claims that are disputed by the Home Office, he said he divorced a 'prominent' politician's daughter and brought 'dishonour' upon their family. The Iraqi says it would violate his human rights to send him back to Iraq because he is at risk of an 'honour feud'. He even alleges he was ambushed by four armed men who stabbed him '17 times' - however there are question marks over the claim due to a lack of medical evidence. The Iraqi, who has been granted anonymity, won an appeal at the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber to have his case reheard. The tribunal was told the Iraqi is of Kurdish ethnicity and Sunni Muslim faith and is from Sulaymaniyah City, in the Kurdish region. A tribunal judgement said he entered Britain 'clandestinely' in 2020. The judgement said: 'He departed Iraq on July 26, 2019, initially travelling by air to Turkey, and subsequently continued his journey through Greece, Italy, and France, ultimately entering the United Kingdom clandestinely by boat on August 7, 2020. 'He submitted an application for asylum the following day. '[The Iraqi's] claim for asylum is based upon a claimed risk of being a victim of an honour-based crime. 'He alleges that he fled Iraq due to threats from his former father-in-law, a prominent and influential politician affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). 'According to the [Iraqi], he was accused of bringing dishonour upon [his ex-father-in-law's] family by divorcing his daughter.' It was accepted he was married and went through a divorce, but the Home Office 'did not accept that he had experienced problems from his ex-father-in-law'. The Home Office issued a deportation order but the Iraqi, who had a child with his ex-wife, appealed it at the First-tier Tribunal last year. The First-tier Tribunal dismissed his appeal, with the judge at the time 'questioning the credibility of the marriage itself'. The First-tier Tribunal said there was a 'disparity in social status' between his ex-wife - the daughter of a powerful politician - and him, a 'minimally educated taxi driver from a marginalised tribe'. In response to the Iraqi's claims that he was the victim of a 'violent' attack linked to the honour feud and stabbed 17 times, the judge also said there were 'credibility issues'. The First-tier Tribunal judge said the account was 'implausible and unsubstantiated by any hospital records or medical evidence'. The judge at the time said his 'asylum claim was entirely lacking in credibility and determined that it was a complete fabrication'. The Iraqi appealed the case again at the Upper Tribunal and it has now been found that the First-tier Tribunal judge made mistakes in law. Deputy Judge of the Upper Tribunal Sara Anzani said the judge was wrong to question the marriage and divorce certificates and said the judge did not give the Iraqi a chance to respond to their doubts. Judge Anzani said: 'These concerns about the reliability and authenticity of the marriage and divorce certificates were not previously raised by the [Home Office], nor were they put to the [Iraqi] during the hearing. 'I find that the Judge's failure to raise his concerns about the authenticity and reliability of the marriage and divorce certificates, concerns not previously identified by the [Home Office], deprived the [Iraqi] of a fair opportunity to address the Judge's doubts. 'The Judge's findings on the marriage and divorce certificates contribute to his overall assessment of the [Iraqi's] credibility, and the ultimate finding that [his] claim was fabricated. 'Consequently, this procedural error is material and permeates the entirety of the Judge's decision.'
