Militias withdrawing from Afrin as Damascus gains control: Official
Second batch of Kurdish forces withdraws from Aleppo
Syrian Kurds struggle to repair key dam damaged by militants
ISIS ramps up attacks in SDF-held regions: War monitor
UN envoy, Sharaa discuss political transition, SDF deal, violence in Alawite regions
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Damascus-affiliated security forces are edging closer to fully controlling the Kurdish city of Afrin in northwest Syria as militia groups and settlers leave, a Kurdish official in the city said on Wednesday.
"Four months have passed since the government forces entered, and thousands of armed faction fighters have already left Afrin,' Azad Osman, an Afrin local council member, told Rudaw.
'Only a small number [of militants] remain and will likely depart soon,' Osman noted.
Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in March 2018, capturing Afrin from the People's Protection Units (YPG) - the backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - and placing it under the control of Turkish-backed armed groups. Since then, these groups have operated with significant impunity.
With regards to settlers who have confiscated the properties of the Kurdish residents in the region, Osman expected that they would leave Afrin and return back to their areas by the end of the educational year.
'Now we need to form a committee to facilitate the return of remaining displaced persons,' he stressed.
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Afrin in mid-February and met with locals, the majority of whom were Kurds. He pledged to remove armed groups and put an end to the violations, a representative from the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) who attended the meeting told Rudaw at the time.
Kurds have been increasingly returning to Afrin since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime. These Kurds had been displaced to other parts of Syria after Turkey-backed militia groups invaded the Kurdish-majority city. With the militants losing their grip on Afrin to Damascus-affiliated forces, many have been able to return.
No official Syrian government decision has been made to support the return of Afrin's residents. Some families come back on their own, while others return through aid from the ENKS, a coalition of Kurdish political parties that is considered the main opposition in northeast Syria (Rojava). The umbrella group, which used to be part of the Turkey-backed anti-Assad opposition, has had an office in Afrin for years.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark deal with Sharaa in March to integrate the SDF into the state apparatus. Along with recognizing Kurds as an integral part of Syria and establishing a nationwide ceasefire, the agreement also included the facilitation of the return of displaced people to their homes.
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It will increase by five additional hours. Currently, operation is from four to five hours; it will increase by five more hours, reaching nine to ten hours of daily operation. This will be in all Syrian regions and provinces, throughout the Syrian Arab Republic, without discrimination. Distribution will be fair. Each province has a consumption capacity and will be supplied accordingly. Citizens will notice this difference across Syria. When will they start noticing the difference? Natural gas began to be pumped yesterday. The gas pipes were empty yesterday, and today they are being filled. Then the gas will be pumped to generating stations - Aleppo station, Jandar station in Homs, and Deir Ali station in Rif Dimashq [Damascus countryside]. God willing, this quantity will reach the stations and start generating electricity. At that moment, people will notice the difference in operating hours. This will happen in a few days. Regarding the distribution of electricity, Mr. Ahmed, how will it be distributed to each city and province? How many hours will electricity increase? As I mentioned, the Syrian grid is a circular network connected to all parts of Syria. Electricity generation in Aleppo affects all provinces, and the same applies to generation in Homs. Distribution will be fair to all provinces. Citizens will notice an increase in all provinces, with operating hours increasing to about ten hours per day, compared to previous rationing of 14 hours per day, God willing. Things will improve, God willing. We are aiming for 14 hours per day through upcoming projects. I f gas imports rise to six million cubic meters per day as planned, what is the expected additional improvement? Can we expect continuous supply in some areas? Absolutely. Operating hours will increase. If an additional 2.6 million cubic meters are imported, the total will be six million, and operating hours could increase to about 14 hours per day, compared to the current ten hours of rationing, God willing. Electricity will be distributed to all provinces equally; no province will always have electricity while others face rationing. All provinces will have the same operating and rationing hours. Is there a timetable to reach the peak of this project at six million cubic meters? Absolutely. After the current supply of 3.4 million cubic meters, supported by the Qatar Fund for Development, we will study or import an additional 2.6 million cubic meters to reach six million total. God willing, this increase will happen in the near future. There is also the issue of importing fuel, which supports stations that operate on fuel. All of this, God willing, benefits citizens and supports longer electricity operation hours. In recent months, there have been many meetings and discussions between the Syrian energy ministry and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) in northeast Syria (Rojava) regarding oil and gas imports. Are these meetings ongoing? There have been no meetings except one regarding water in Aleppo province, which was held there. An agreement was made to reduce the flow of water from regions held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to Iraq. This reduction aims to preserve water behind dams in eastern Syria. These meetings were held between the energy ministry and SDF representatives in the past few months. Will the electricity supply include Hasaka province and areas in north and east Syria as well? God willing, it will be included. However, the lines connecting those regions need major maintenance. In general, connection lines across Syria require maintenance. Cables need replacement because if they are not of good quality, they cannot bear the load. According to my knowledge, there are no high-quality cables connecting north and east Syria. Maintenance and reconstruction are necessary, and the region is unsafe due to landmines. These landmines must be removed along with the maintenance of the lines. God willing, we will work on this in the coming days. How far has local oil and gas production capacity reached in Syria today? Are there figures about the actual working fields and daily production quantities? In general, nothing has changed much in Syria today. We mentioned earlier that current oil production is about 100,000 barrels per day, which is very low compared to before the 2011 revolution, when production was around 400,000 barrels per day. Today, production stands at about 100,000 barrels per day. God willing, after full control of the oil fields [by the Syrian government], we will develop these fields to restore previous production levels and increase drilling to raise daily oil output, God willing.
