What’s at stake for the Kurds in Syria?
Early in Syria’s civil war, the Kurds carved out self-ruled territory in the country’s east, setting themselves apart from al-Assad’s government and the rebels opposing it.
The Kurds defended this territory by forming the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which also includes Arab fighters. The US-backed force drove ISIL (ISIS) out of large areas of Syria, including Raqqa, the capital of their self-declared caliphate.
But Turkey, which opposes an independent Kurdish state near its borders, views the SDF’s main Kurdish faction as a “terrorist” group and has funded Syrian rebel fighters – known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) – to battle them.
With new leadership in Damascus, which the SNA has allied with, the Kurds are facing new threats to their territory.
Already, the SNA has pushed the Kurds out of the city of Manbij. Other rebel fighters claim to have captured the city of Deir Az Zor, which the Kurds briefly held after al-Assad’s forces fled, and say they will push further east.
While the rebels could still seek some kind of agreement with the Kurds to incorporate them into the new political order, that would likely require accepting a degree of Kurdish autonomy in the east. It would also risk angering Turkey, which now appears to be the chief power broker in Syria.
Semi-autonomous Kurdish authority to raise Syria’s independence flag
The Kurdish administration governing a semi-autonomous enclave in northeastern Syria has announced it will embrace the independence flag used by the opposition.
In a statement, it described the three-starred flag as a “symbol of this new stage” that “expresses the aspirations of the Syrian people towards freedom, dignity and national unity”.
The authority will “raise the Syrian (independence) flag on all councils, institutions, administrations and facilities affiliated with the Autonomous Administration”, it said.
People hold a large Syrian opposition flag at Umayyad Square in Damascus, December 9
Turkiye takes ‘preventive measures’ against ‘terrorist groups’ in Syria
Turkiye says it is taking steps against “terrorist” groups trying to exploit the security situation in Syria, the country’s Ministry of National Defense has said.
“Turkiye is taking preventive, destructive measures against terrorist groups that are trying to gain ground by taking advantage of the situation threatening the security of Syria and our region,” Zeki Akturk, the defence ministry’s spokesperson, told a weekly news conference in the capital, Ankara.
The reference is to ongoing fighting against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces who control territory in northeastern Syria.
Turkey, which opposes an independent Kurdish state near its borders, views the SDF’s main Kurdish faction as a “terrorist” group and has funded Syrian rebel fighters – known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) – to battle them.
No doubt oil plays a roll as usual
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