Kurdish Self-Defense Forces in Syria Refuse to Disband
Kurdish self-defense forces in Syria. X/ @ArturRehi
December 20, 2024 Hour: 10:23 am
‘Considering the behavior of the various parties toward us, it is impossible to dissolve our military forces,’ SDF spokesman said.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), under the Kurdish-led administration that governs northeastern Syria in practice, reject dissolving after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s administration, as demanded by Türkiye and the Islamist provisional government installed in Damascus.
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From the city of Hasaka, SDF spokesperson Siamand Ali criticized the “stubbornness” of Turkish-backed factions in continuing the war and the provisional government’s lack of openness toward other components of the Syrian population. He also called for a total ceasefire across Syrian territory as a condition for participating in the new government.
No Dissolution of the SDF
“Under the current circumstances in Syria and considering the behavior of the various parties toward us, it is impossible to dissolve our military forces,” said Ali, who is also a spokesperson for the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG), which Türkiye considers a terrorist organization.
He emphasized the need to maintain the autonomous administration in northeastern Syria and the forces protecting Kurdish areas, “without separatist intentions,” as a model for all of Syria. Due to the threat posed by Turkish-backed rebel forces in northern Syria, the SDF has evacuated all official headquarters, and its military presence in public spaces is nonexistent.
At the location where Ali gave an interview to the EFE news agency, there were no signs of military activity—only the banners of the armed group and photos of its fighters who died in battles against the Islamic State (ISIS) and Turkish-backed factions.
Ali noted that the SDF is not the only armed group retaining its weapons, pointing out that other armed factions remain active in Daraa and Sweida in southern Syria, as well as Turkish-backed factions in the north, which he described as “an obstacle to political transition because they take orders from abroad.”
The SDF was formed in 2015 by unifying self-defense forces from Kurdish, Syriac, and Arab communities in northern Syria to protect the region from ISIS attacks and establish security.
Clashes with Turkish-Backed Forces
Despite the absence of military forces in public spaces, all main roads and streets in the cities are filled with checkpoints run by the Internal Security Forces, the Kurdish police, who are equipped only with light weapons.
Since early December, Turkish-backed factions grouped under the Syrian National Army (SNA) have launched continuous attacks on the SDF northeast of Aleppo, in the far western part of the Kurdish-controlled area. This has led the militias to take Manbij, a city located about 70 kilometers northeast of Aleppo.
Ali explained that SDF forces withdrew from the area as a gesture of goodwill to stop the fighting, but Turkish-backed factions continued hostilities near the Tishrin Dam and the strategic Qara Kozak Bridge, the only crossing between the two banks of the Euphrates River in this region.
He mentioned that the SDF entered negotiations with these forces, mediated by the U.S. and France, to stop the fighting. However, the Turkish government made “impossible demands,” including the dissolution of the SDF.
“Under the current circumstances in Syria and with Turkish air support for the factions fighting us, dissolving our forces would expose our people to genocide,” Ali stressed.
Turkish Demands
Türkiye is also demanding the relocation of the tomb of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman Shah (1178–1236) in the town of Qara Kozak. His remains were transferred to Türkiye in 2015 due to fears that ISIS fighters in the area would destroy the tomb.
The SDF agreed to return the remains to northern Syria but rejected Türkiye’s demand to introduce its forces into Syrian territory to provide permanent protection for the tomb. “The Turkish state is attempting to use the return of the remains to establish a military base,” Ali said.
Regarding the political transition process led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, the Kurdish commander stated that there are no direct negotiations with this Islamist group, which he said “made a mistake by assuming power unilaterally.”
“There are no official contacts with the Damascus government so far; we only receive messages through intermediaries, and we respond positively to them,” he added.
The provisional government established by HTS has called for the dissolution of all armed groups in the country and the integration of their members into a unified national army.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
