ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Friday that it has formed a political wing to go along its armed units and deal with diplomatic affairs, according to a report on Aljazeera.
This move comes after Saudi Arabia excluded the SDF from a meeting it organized for Syrian groups to discuss the future of their country.
The name of SDF’s new political wing is the Syrian Democratic Council.
Having a political wing could bring the SDF more recognition and help it advance its interests more effectively on the diplomatic stage.
Even Turkey, which sees most of the Syrian Kurds fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), announced last month that it is willing to recognize the Democratic Union Party (PYD) as a legal political party.
Meanwhile it continues to denounce PYD’s armed wing the ‘Peoples Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey's Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu told Hurriyet Daily News that the PYD, “is a party, just like the HDP in Turkey. The YPG is its armed wing. But the PYD doesn't hold arms in its hands.”
The YPG is part of the SDF and is the most powerful fighting force within the group.
Many analysts are wary of the implications of having a Kurdish force advancing south into the Arab-majority provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, fearing it would antagonize local residents and undermine coalition efforts against ISIS.
However a more broad-based coalition might mitigate that possibility.
Similar arguments have been made about the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighting ISIS in Iraq's Sunni province of Anbar. While they remain a coalition of predominantly Shia militias they have, in recent months, begun to include some smaller Christian and Sunni groups within its ranks.
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