ANKARA: With anti-Daesh operations in Syria coming to an end, the US will focus on holding territory instead of arming the Syrian-Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday.
“The YPG is armed, and as the coalition stops offensive (operations), then obviously you don’t need that,” he said.
“You need security, you need police forces, that’s local forces, that’s people who make certain that ISIS (Daesh) doesn’t come back.” Mattis made clear the US will stop arming the YPG, its main local partner in Syria.
Last week, in a phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the former reportedly said Washington will stop supplying weapons to the YPG.
Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group and a national security threat due to its close ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought against the Turkish state for more than three decades. The US considers the PKK a terrorist group, but not the YPG.
Washington’s military support for the YPG has been a major source of tension between the US and Turkey. The main concern is that weapons supplied to the YPG will end up in PKK hands in Turkey.
“Mattis’ statement, which confirms the conversation between Trump and Erdogan, isn’t insignificant, but it’s no game-changer either,” Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told Arab News.
American support for the YPG is only one issue of contention between the US and Turkey, and providing arms is only one of the ways in which Washington has supported the YPG, alongside providing training and protection, he added.
“The US has already provided large amounts of heavy and light weaponry to the YPG, and even without further shipments, it will remain heavily armed unless the US can recollect most of those weapons,” he said.
“If the US decides to recollect most of the weapons and withdraw its protection of the YPG, the impact on relations with Turkey will be very positive, but the first option isn’t easy and the second one unlikely.”
Mete Sohtaoglu, an Istanbul-based researcher on Middle East politics, said the heavy weaponry provided by the US to the YPG will be recollected starting in January 2018.
“But it’s difficult to recover AK-47 rifles, and Turkey is likely to declare this a reason for war and a threat to its national security and borders as of 2018,” Sohtaoglu told Arab News.
The US will leave civilian construction vehicles such as cranes, bulldozers and trucks in the region to help locals with post-Daesh reconstruction, but military vehicles will be dispatched to Iraq, he added.
The motivation behind the US drive to maintain its military presence in the region is not to support the YPG, but to accelerate the departure of Syrian President Bashar Assad and to have a final say in the settlement of the conflict, Sohtaoglu said.
“The US never attributed any political connotation to the YPG other than military cooperation to fight Daesh,” he added.
“But if Syrian Kurds are denied their federal plan in northern Syria, the question is whether they’ll become the PKK of Syria with the arms they’ve already been provided.”
In November, Kurds in northern Syria voted for local councils. This will be followed in January by the election of a federal Parliament for the region.
US to shift focus in Syria away from arming YPG
US to shift focus in Syria away from arming YPG
Palestinian Authority at risk of collapse, Norway says
- Norway chairs the international donor group to the Palestinians and is a backer of the Palestinian Authority
OSLO: The Palestinian Authority could collapse in the coming months, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Monday, citing a lack of funding, continuing violence and the fact that half a million Palestinians are not allowed to work in Israel.
“The Palestinian Authority, with whom we work closely, are warning us that they might be collapsing this summer,” Barth Eide said.
Norway chairs the international donor group to the Palestinians and is a backer of the PA.
Jordan braces for scorching heatwave as temperatures soar
- The Gulf of Aqaba reached highs of 45 celsius
- Temperatures in Jordan are set to rise slightly, with the heatwave persisting
AMMAN: The Jordan Meteorological Department forecast extreme heat for Monday, with most regions of the country — particularly the desert areas, Jordan Valley, Dead Sea and Aqaba — experiencing intense temperatures.
The Gulf of Aqaba reached highs of 45 celsius, the Southern Jordan Valley 44 celsius, Dead Sea 43 celsius, while the Desert Regions and the Northern Jordan Valley reached highs of 41 celsius.
Cloud cover at medium and high altitudes is expected in the south and east of the Kingdom, state news agency Petra reported, with moderate northwesterly winds occasionally becoming brisk.
The JMD cautioned people against prolonged sun exposure, which could lead to dehydration, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those with health conditions. It also highlighted the risk of forest fires and the dangers of leaving children or flammable items, like perfumes and sanitizers, inside vehicles.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, temperatures in Jordan are set to rise slightly, with the heatwave persisting. Most areas will remain hot, the JMD said, and desert regions will face sweltering conditions. Northeasterly winds will prevail, shifting to moderate northwesterly by evening.
The heatwave will continue into Wednesday, with another slight increase in temperatures. Conditions will be blistering and dry across the highlands, the JMD warned, with extreme heat persisting elsewhere. Northeasterly winds will turn to moderate northwesterly later in the day.
Thursday will bring a modest reprieve as temperatures dip slightly. However, the weather will remain hot across most areas, with the desert, Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, and Aqaba continuing to sizzle. Moderate northwesterly winds will occasionally become brisk.
Iran calls for joint action by Islamic nations to stop Gaza war
- Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has killed at least 37,337 people so far
TEHRAN: Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has called for joint action on the part of Islamic countries to pressure Israel into ending its brutal military activities in Gaza, which have devastated most of the enclave and killed thousands of Palestinians there.
Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has killed at least 37,337 people, mostly civilian women and children, since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Humanitarian supplies for millions of Palestinians displaced by the conflict have been squeezed despite the Israeli military declaring it would “pause” fighting daily around a southern route to facilitate aid flows.
The Iranian official also spoke with his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi via telephone on Sunday, with the two discussing bilateral relations as well as the situation in war-ravaged Gaza.
Kani reiterated Iran’s readiness to help Kabul resolve its challenges and achieve growth, Iran’s news agency IRNA reported.
Kuwaiti citizen detained for alleged involvement in extremist group
KUWAIT CITY: The Public Prosecution in Kuwait has ordered the detention of a citizen on charges of joining a group aimed at illegally undermining the country’s basic systems, state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday.
The individual is also accused of receiving training in making explosives and preparing poisons for illicit purposes, as well as planning to leave the country to fight with the group, though he was unable to do so.
The Public Prosecution interrogated the accused and presented him with the charges, according to a statement released on its official account on X. Investigation procedures are ongoing.
Yemen’s Houthis announce new maritime operations in support of Gaza
- The Houthis declared that attacks on Israel-linked shipping will persist until Israel ends its war on Gaza and lifts the siege on Palestinian territories
SANAA: The Houthi militia’s army spokesman, Yahya Saree, announced on Sunday that an American destroyer and two Israel-linked ships were targeted in recent operations in the Red and Arabian seas.
Saree said that the US destroyer was hit by ballistic missiles in the Red Sea, while the two ships — Captain Paris and Happy Condor — were targeted in the Arabian Sea using naval missiles and drones, respectively.
He stated that these ships were targeted because they were en route to ports in Israeli-occupied territories.
Saree reaffirmed Yemen’s stance, declaring that attacks on Israel-linked shipping will persist until Israel ends its war on Gaza and lifts the siege on Palestinian territories.
He also emphasized that the Yemeni army would continue to defend its territory against US-UK “aggression,” referring to joint airstrikes by the two Western nations, which the latter claim were launched to protect international shipping.
The Houthis have rejected these claims, asserting that their military operations in international waters, ongoing since mid-November, only target Israeli ships or vessels heading to Israeli-occupied ports.
