Syria’s new leaders introduced Tuesday that they’d reached an settlement with the nation’s insurgent teams on their dissolution and integration beneath the defence ministry.
Absent from the assembly had been representatives of the US-backed, Kurdish-led forces that management swathes of Syria’s northeast.
The assembly between the insurgent teams and Syria’s new chief Ahmed al-Sharaa “led to an settlement on the dissolution of all of the teams and their integration beneath the supervision of the ministry of defence”, stated a press release carried by the SANA information company and the authorities’ Telegram account.
The announcement comes simply over two weeks after president Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, following a lightning offensive spearheaded by Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.
On Sunday Sharaa, lengthy recognized by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, had stated the brand new authorities would “completely not enable there to be weapons within the nation exterior state management”.
That additionally utilized to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), he stated.
Final week, the navy chief of HTS advised AFP that Kurdish-held areas could be built-in beneath the brand new management, and that “Syria won’t be divided”.
13 years of civil warfare in Syria has left greater than half 1,000,000 individuals lifeless and fragmented the nation into zones of affect managed by completely different armed teams backed by regional and worldwide powers.
SDF spokesman Farhad Shami advised AFP the query of his group’s integration into the nationwide armed forces “ought to be mentioned instantly”.
He didn’t dismiss the likelihood, saying that doing so would strengthen “the entire of Syria”.
Shami added that his forces favor “dialogue with Damascus to resolve all questions”.
– ‘Financial leverage’ –
Turkey has lengthy held ties with HTS, and analysts say that because the Islamists took over Syria, either side have sought to revenue from the connection.
Ankara accuses the Individuals’s Safety Items (YPG) — the primary element of the SDF — of being affiliated with the Kurdistan Staff’ Celebration (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil.
Earlier this month, a Syria specialist who advises Western diplomats in Turkey stated: “The Turks wish to push HTS into putting on the Kurds however HTS does not wish to become involved.”
Though Ankara’s position in Assad’s overthrow had been “overstated”, Turkey now has “actual financial leverage” due to the 900-kilometre (560-mile) border it shares with Syria, the supply stated on situation of anonymity.
How the scenario develops can even rely on US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes workplace on January 20 however has already proclaimed that “Turkey goes to carry the important thing to Syria”.
Since late November, the SDF has been battling Turkey-backed fighters who launched an offensive on Kurdish-held areas similtaneously HTS’s anti-Assad marketing campaign.
On Tuesday, the SDF stated in a press release its fighters had been waging lethal fight to the east of the important thing metropolis of Manbij, with 16 deaths in its ranks.
Syria’s Kurds, lengthy oppressed beneath Assad’s rule, noticed a possibility throughout the warfare to carve out a semi-autonomous territory within the northeast.
They proved an indispensable ally to the US-led coalition battling the Islamist State group.
Since Assad’s ouster on December 8, they’ve issued quite a few statements welcoming his downfall, and likewise put out requires dialogue with the brand new management in Damascus and with Turkey.
In Syria’s northeast, each the Kurdish flag and the three-star independence-era flag utilized by the brand new authorities might be seen.
