Latest news with #KurdishMilitia
The National
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Syria blames US-backed Kurds for instability after failed meeting
The Syrian government has accused the Kurdish-led and US-backed militia of delays in implementing a March deal to integrate into the country's armed forces, warning that the inaction would undermine newly-found stability. The mostly Kurdish, secular militia, called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has emerged as the most powerful rival to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a splinter group from Al Qaeda led by Mr Al Shara. HTS has taken central power since the ouster of former president Bashar Al Assad in December. The accusation came after a failed meeting on Wednesday between the two sides during a visit to Damascus by Thomas Barrack, the American envoy to Syria. Mr Barrack is a key figure in the normalisation that started in May between Washington and the post-Assad order in Syria. An official in the SDF said that while Mr Abdi left Damascus on Wednesday without meeting Mr Al Shara, he did meet Mr Barrack together with senior Syrian officials, including Interior Minister Anas Al Khattab, one of Mr Al Shara's closest subordinates. That meeting "was tense and did not go well", the official said, without elaborating. Asked about the Syrian government reaction, the official said that Damascus, egged on by Turkey, "is escalating and trying to show the Kurds as the problematic partner". An official Syrian statement thanked Washington for its efforts to implement the March 10 agreement. It recognised that although SDF faces "challenges", delaying the deal "will complicate the scene, and hinder the efforts to bring back security and stability." The SDF has warded off encroachment by HTS and its militia allies, who are backed by Turkey, on its strongholds in eastern Syria, and repeatedly demanded federalism to solve the country's fragmentation. The central authorities "insist on one army, one government" and refuse any form of federalism, because it "contrasts with Syrian sovereignty and territorial unity," the statement said. For reasons that still remain unclear, a meeting failed to take place as scheduled on Wednesday between Mr Al Shara and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, to solve differences that has prevented implementing the March 10 deal. The US-and Turkish-brokered agreement stipulated in general terms bringing the SDF military and administrative units into the new Syrian state, without setting a timetable. Syrian media reported that a Turkish security delegation had arrived in Damascus on the same day Mr Al Shara was due to meet Abdi. Security threat Turkey regards the SDF as a national security threat, partly because it has links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a group that has been waging a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, and received support from the former regime in Syria during the time of its inception. The SDF also collaborated with the Syrian regime on several occasions during the 13-year civil war. The SDF, unlike the PKK, which in recent months has taken steps to disband, refuses to dissolve itself. It has agreed to join the new Syrian army as long as it retains its Kurdish commanders, Kurdish sources said. However, Mr Barrak appeared to blame the SDF for a lack of progress on solving the Kurdish issue in Syria, saying that the new Damascus authorities have 'done a great job' by giving the SDF an option that the group should "quickly" consider. Mr Barrack was also quoted by local Syrian media as saying that federalism is not a viable solution in Syria, and that the SDF has been a "slow" party in the negotiations. The United States set up the SDF in 2015 as the main ground component in the American-led war on ISIS in Syria. Last month, the Pentagon allocated $130 million for the anti-ISIS militias in Syria, mainly the SDF. The forces have played a pivotal role in the fight against ISIS in the country and are currently in charge of overseeing the camps and prisons hosting remnant fighters.
The National
04-06-2025
- General
- The National
Hajj begins today and Syria builds national army
There has been more deadly violence near an aid distribution site in Gaza. Syria has recruited half of its planned national army. The Hajj pilgrimage begins today. On this morning's episode of Trending Middle East: At least 27 killed and 90 injured near Gaza aid distribution centre in Rafah UN calls for investigation into Palestinian deaths near Gaza aid site as Israel pushes back Syria has recruited half of planned 200,000-strong army, military sources say Under pressure, Kurdish militia resumes integration talks with Damascus Mapping the global gathering of Hajj This episode features Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Jordan correspondent, and Ali Al Shouk, senior news reporter.
The National
04-06-2025
- General
- The National
Syria builds national army and Hajj begins today
There has been more deadly violence near an aid distribution site in Gaza. Syria has recruited half of its planned national army. The Hajj pilgrimage begins today. On this morning's episode of Trending Middle East: At least 27 killed and 90 injured near Gaza aid distribution centre in Rafah UN calls for investigation into Palestinian deaths near Gaza aid site as Israel pushes back Syria has recruited half of planned 200,000-strong army, military sources say Under pressure, Kurdish militia resumes integration talks with Damascus Mapping the global gathering of Hajj This episode features Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Jordan correspondent, and Ali Al Shouk, senior news reporter.
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.
