ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Monday their deal with the Syrian regime for the entry of government forces into Kurdish-held territory does not cover Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad), where conflict with Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies is currently raging.
“As per what we have requested, [the deal will cover] Derik (Al-Malikiyah) until Sari Kani, and on the other side from Gire Spi, where there is no clash, until Kobane and Manbij,” Aldar Khalil, told SDF-affiliated Ronahi TV.
“We have to raise the Syrian flag in all these areas to show there are Syrian soldiers present. We cannot enter conflict areas,” added Khalil.
This means the agreement for Syrian Arab Army presence does not cover Sari Kani and Gire Spi, currently being contested by Turkish and Turkish-backed forces and the SDF.
Kurdish-led forces say they have managed to clear Sari Kani of Turkish-backed force presence. However, Turkish media claim both border towns have successfully been captured by the so-called Operation Peace Spring forces.
The Syrian Arab Army will only be deployed to “border line,” Khalil said, with SDF forces continuing to remain in their current positions.
Turkey and its Syrian proxies from the so-called Syrian National Army launched Operation Peace Spring against the SDF in northern Syria last Wednesday, aiming to drive out Kurdish forces and resettle millions of predominantly Arab Syrians - who have fled to Turkey since 2011 unrest at home - in Kurdish areas.
Luqman Ehme, spokesperson for the ruling Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) also told Rudaw on Monday that the task of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces will merely be to “protect” Syrian borders with Turkey.
“The Syrian Army will only protect the northern borders of Syria. The Syrian Army together with the SDF will protect the region stretching from Derik all the way to Sari Kani, and from Gire Spi and Manbij,” he said, without elaborating which areas will not be covered.
Emboldened by Russian promises of backing, Aldar Khalil said in his interview that this deal is the beginning of an extended deal with Damascus, to later entail the “liberation” of areas controlled by Turkish forces, including Afrin which was invaded by Turkey and its Syrian proxies in March 2018.
“We can benefit from this agreement for there (conflict areas) and there could be a no-fly zone, if Russians fulfill their promise. Then, we will be able to attack them (Turkish army and its Syrian proxies). We mostly focused on how to liberate Afrin during our talks. We have informed them that if Afrin is liberated we can control its borders as well.”
Russia was blamed by the SDF in 2018 for abandoning them in the face of Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch, in which it snatched Afrin from Kurdish control.
Khalil is confident that the current structure of the Kurdish administration will remain until they reach a final deal with Assad.
He said their next aim is to make the Syrian regime “accept this administration.”
“There is a de facto administration. We are the de facto administrators of this area,” he asserted, adding that the system and name of their administration will be discussed with the Syrian government.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) - which make up most of the multi-ethnic SDF - replaced regime forces in Kurdish-majority areas in northern Syria when Syrian Army was deployed to other areas to defend Assad’s reign in Arab-majority areas like the capital city of Damascus. The YPG later formed the SDF and allowed people from other ethnic groups to join the force, as advised by their then American allies.
In one of a series of tweets made yesterday, US President Donald Trump appeared to back assistance of Kurds from virtually any party – including Bashar al-Assad.
“Let Syria and Assad protect the Kurds and fight Turkey for their own land. I said to my Generals, why should we be fighting for Syria....” Trump said.
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