Latest news with #EasternSyria
The National
4 days ago
- General
- The National
Under pressure, Kurdish militia resumes integration talks with Damascus
The mostly Kurdish militia that controls large parts of eastern Syria is seeking to resurrect an integration deal with Damascus following moves by the US, its main backer, to bolster the authority of the new central government established by the former rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS). The March 10 agreement faltered after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US-backed militia, convened a conference of Kurdish political groups in April that demanded that Syria be governed under a federal system. However, the SDF's position has been undermined by the recent Turkish and Saudi-brokered rapprochement between Washington and the HTS-led government in Damascus. The SDF-dominated administration in the east "supports Syria's unity and sovereignty", the Kurdish delegation said in a statement issued after a meeting with Syrian officials in Damascus on Sunday. The statement said that there would be another round of talks soon, but it did not specify a date. The statement made no reference to the future of the SDF, which seeks to remain a separate unit rather than being absorbed into the new Syrian armed forces of the Damascus government. The secular SDF is the second-most powerful faction in Syria, after HTS, the religious armed group that led the rebel offensive that toppled former dictator Bashar Al Assad in December. Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara is also the leader of HTS. Restoring control of the east to the central authorities would further strengthen Mr Al Shara, whose international acceptance as Syria's new leader received a major boost after his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia last month. The US special envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack, a close Trump ally who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkey, met Mr Al Shara in Damascus last week and announced that Washington would lift Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. He said the US would "give this young government a chance by not interfering, not demanding, by not giving conditions". The Kurdish delegation said they also discussed the thorny issue of returning displaced people to the east during the talks on Sunday. Many among the three million population of the area were forcibly displaced after Kurdish militias who were forerunners of the SDF captured the area from the Assad regime starting in 2012, the year after the start of an uprising against the former president. The Kurdish militias expelled thousands of Arab families but many Kurds were also forced to leave after Turkey carved out a zone of control in the area in 2018. The two sides agreed to explore "mechanisms to facilitate the return of displaced persons to their areas and addressing the obstacles hindering this return". They also agreed to reactivate an agreement for Damascus security forces to enter a mostly Kurdish neighbourhood in the northern city of Aleppo, the Kurdish delegation said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
One SDF Fighter Killed in Attack by ISIS in Eastern Syria
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a group led by Kurdish fighters, said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by ISIS in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor region. The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated ISIS in 2019 after the group seized swathes of Syria and Iraq. The SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government, now led by former opposition groups that toppled President Bashar al-Assad last year. Syria's new authorities have clashed with ISIS fighters, particularly in the east. Last month ISIS killed five SDF fighters in one of the deadliest recent attacks against the group.
Arab News
18-05-2025
- Arab News
At least 3 killed in blast targeting police station in eastern Syria
CAIRO: At least three people were killed when a blast targeted a police station in the eastern Syrian town of Al-Mayadeen on Sunday, the state news agency said, citing a security source. The explosion also injured several people, the report said, without providing further details.
Al Arabiya
18-05-2025
- Al Arabiya
At least three killed in blast targeting police station in eastern Syria
At least three people were killed when a blast targeted a police station in the eastern Syrian town of al-Mayadeen on Sunday, the state news agency said, citing a security source. The explosion also injured several people, the report said, without providing further details.
