ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (PDKS), an opposition group mainly based in the Kurdistan Region, is preparing to deploy its Peshmerga forces to the Kurdish enclave in Syria, also known as Rojava, after the anticipated peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana next week.
The PDKS senior official Kawa Azizi told Rudaw the full deployment of the Peshmerga unit could take place as early as in June this year when the formation of the troop is completed.
“For the moment we have around 7,000 Peshmerga fighters in the unit which includes both male and female forces but it will be deployed to Rojava when another 7,000 troops are added,” Azizi said.
Relations between the PDKS, which is largely supported by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the ruling Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Rojava have remained strained as the PYD-led government has so far refused entrance for the PDKS Peshmerga forces into the Kurdish enclave in Syria.
Last Thursday, President Barzani told Rudaw in a joint interview that the Rojava Peshmerga have not been sent back to northern Syria in order to avoid bloodshed among Kurds, but he warned that there are limits to his patience.
"Not yet,” President Barzani said when asked whether the KRG have opened the doors for the Rojava Peshmerga to go back to Syria. “I have said it time and again that Kurdish blood should never again be shed by fellow Kurds. Otherwise we would have sent them back a long time ago. But everything has its own limits. Like Arabs say 'even patience has its limits’."
The PYD has recognised its own armed wing of People’s Protection Units (YPG) as the only legitimate military force in Rojava and said the PDKS Peshmerga would be allowed to enter the enclave only under the YPG command, fearing conflict between the two rivalling groups if the PDKS led forces were mobilised into the enclave.
Azizi said the Peshmerga unit will be participating in what he called the final push against the ISIS in Syria and enjoy the support of both the KRG and the US-led coalition.
“The deployment depends on the outcome of peace talks in Astana and the plans for the future Syria that will be determined in the talks,” Azizi said.
Russia and Turkey have jointly announced that a new round of peace efforts will take place on January 23 in Astana for the first time after the failed Geneva negotiations last year.
Ankara has refused to invite the PYD and the YPG to the meeting, calling the group an extension of its outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
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