DAMASCUS: The Syrian presidency rejected on Sunday a Kurdish call for a decentralized state, warning against attempts at separatism or federalism by the minority group.
“We reject clearly any attempt to impose a separatist reality or to create separate entities under the cover of federalism... without a national consensus,” the presidency said in a statement in which it also condemned “the recent activities and declarations” of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that “call for federalism.”
“The unity of Syria, of its territories and its people is a red line,” the statement said.
The declaration came a day after a conference of Syrian Kurdish parties adopted a joint vision of a “decentralized democratic state.”
The new authorities in Syria, who replaced the overthrown Bashar Assad in December, have repeatedly rejected the idea of Kurdish autonomy.
The US-backed Kurds control large areas of northeastern Syria, much of which they took over in the process of defeating jihadists of the Daesh group between 2015 and 2019.
They have enjoyed de facto autonomy since early in the civil war which broke out in 2011, but the new authorities have insisted on a unitary state.
In March, Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, and the SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, signed an agreement to integrate Kurdish institutions into the Syrian state.
Abdi told the conference on Saturday that “my message to all Syrian constituents and the Damascus government is that the conference does not aim, as some say, at division.”
Instead it aimed “for the unity of Syria,” he insisted.
“We support all Syrian components receiving their rights in the constitution to be able to build a decentralized democratic Syria that embraces everyone,” Abdi said.
Most of Syria’s oil and gas fields are in areas administered by the Kurdish authorities. These may prove a crucial resource for Syria’s new authorities as they seek to rebuild the war-devastated country.
Syria rejects Kurds’ call for decentralization
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Syria rejects Kurds’ call for decentralization
- The new authorities in Syria, who replaced the overthrown Bashar Assad in December, have repeatedly rejected the idea of Kurdish autonomy
- Most of Syria’s oil and gas fields are in areas administered by the Kurdish authorities
Syrian government and SDF agree to de-escalate after Aleppo violence
- Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the agreement
DAMASCUS: Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces agreed to de-escalate on Monday evening in the northern city of Aleppo, after a wave of attacks that both sides blamed on each other left at least two civilians dead and several wounded.
Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing the defense ministry, said the army’s general command issued an order to stop targeting the SDF’s fire sources. The SDF said in a statement later that it had issued instructions to stop responding to attacks by Syrian government forces following de-escalation contacts.
HIGHLIGHTS
• SDF and Syrian government forces blame each other for Aleppo violence
• Turkiye threatens military action if SDF fails integration deadline
• Aleppo schools and offices closed on Tuesday following the violence
The Syrian health ministry said two people were killed and several were wounded in shelling by the SDF on residential neighborhoods in the city. The injuries included two children and two civil defense workers. The violence erupted hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a visit to Damascus that the SDF appeared to have no intention of honoring a commitment to integrate into the state’s armed forces by an agreed year-end deadline.
Turkiye views the US-backed SDF, which controls swathes of northeastern Syria, as a terrorist organization and has warned of military action if the group does not honor the agreement.
Integrating the SDF would mend Syria’s deepest remaining fracture, but failing to do so risks an armed clash that could derail the country’s emergence from 14 years of war and potentially draw in Turkiye, which has threatened an incursion against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists.
Both sides have accused the other of stalling and acting in bad faith. The SDF is reluctant to give up autonomy it won as the main US ally during the war, which left it with control of Daesh prisons and rich oil resources.
SANA, citing the defense ministry, reported earlier that the SDF had launched a sudden attack on security forces and the army in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods of Aleppo, resulting in injuries.
The SDF denied this and said the attack was carried out by factions affiliated with the Syrian government. It said those factions were using tanks and artillery against residential neighborhoods in the city.
The defense ministry denied the SDF’s statements, saying the army was responding to sources of fire from Kurdish forces. “We’re hearing the sounds of artillery and mortar shells, and there is a heavy army presence in most areas of Aleppo,” an eyewitness in Aleppo told Reuters earlier on Monday. Another eyewitness said the sound of strikes had been very strong and described the situation as “terrifying.”
Aleppo’s governor announced a temporary suspension of attendance in all public and private schools and universities on Tuesday, as well as government offices within the city center.
