Latest news with #KurdishSyrianDemocraticForces
Toronto Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Turkey shows support for Syria's new government with a regional warning and a defense deal
ANKARA (AP) — Turkey publicly reinforced its support for the new Syrian government Wednesday, warning Israel and Kurdish fighters to cease actions threatening its stability and signing an agreement on military training cooperation and consultancy. Speaking at a news conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, of undermining the country's efforts to reestablish itself after more than a decade of civil war.
5 days ago
- Politics
Turkey says Israel and Kurdish fighters should stop destabilizing Syria
ANKARA -- Israel and Kurdish fighters should stop threatening the security and stability of Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Fidan accused Israel and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, of undermining the country's efforts to reestablish itself after more than a decade of civil war. He said Israel had 'fueled certain difficulties' in Syria and warned that Israeli security "cannot be achieved through undermining the security of your neighbors." 'To the contrary, you should make sure your neighboring countries are prosperous and secure. If you try to destabilize these countries, if you take steps to that end, this could trigger other crises in the region.' Since Islamist-led insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December, the new interim government in Damascus has struggled to maintain stability and heal the wounds of the nearly 14-year civil war. Most recently, hundreds were killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side and fighters from the country's Druze minority on the other. Meanwhile, tensions have also risen between the central government and the U.S.-allied SDF that controls northeastern Syria. Implementation of an agreement reached in March to merge the SDF with the new Syrian army has stalled and there have been scattered outbreaks of violence between the two sides. Fidan accused the SDF of trying to turn instability in Syria into an 'opportunity for themselves.' Ankara views the SDF with hostility as the group is spearheaded by the People's Protection Units, or YPG, affiliated with the Kurdish group that recently entered a peace process with Turkey after more than 40 years of fighting. The SDF has said it is not party to the deal between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. 'The upper echelons of the YPG need to stop stalling because the chaos they're waiting for (in Syria) will not take place, and even if it does, it will not be to their advantage,' Fidan said. He added: 'They shouldn't take us for fools. We have good intentions, but that doesn't mean we will turn a blind eye to your mischievous or devious ways.' Turkey has been supportive of Syria's new administration, which is formed largely by rebels that Ankara backed during the civil war. 'Every actor in the region is not as constructive as us,' Fidan said. 'There are certain people who have been meddling in the affairs of Syria, chief among whom is the Israeli administration.' Al-Shibani, meanwhile, said Israel's actions 'undermine the security of our citizens,' adding that 'certain countries want Syria to disintegrate based on ideologies, based on ethnicity, and obviously we are against all these efforts.'
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Turkey says Israel and Kurdish fighters should stop destabilizing Syria
ANKARA (AP) — Israel and Kurdish fighters should stop threatening the security and stability of Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Fidan accused Israel and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, of undermining the country's efforts to reestablish itself after more than a decade of civil war.
Morocco World
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
PKK Decides to Dissolve, Halt Armed Struggle in Turkiye
Rabat — The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group announced today its decision to dissolve and end all its armed struggle against the Turkish state. The decision comes after four decades of bloody conflict that killed over 40,000 and exerted a huge economic burden, fueling social tensions. Turkiye welcomed the PKK's decision as it is paving the way to a legal framework for security, disarming the group. The group was designated by Ankara, as well as its Western allies, as a terrorist group. The decision was taken following the PKK's 12th congress on Monday A statement from the group on Monday announced that its '12th Congress decided to dissolve the PKK's organizational structure…and end the armed struggle.' The decision emanated from the congress that was held in response to the PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's February call to dissolve. Ankara has not confirmed or agreed that Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island south of Istanbul since 1999, will lead the dissolution process. However, the statement did not outline how the PKK's disarmament would be carried out or what would become of its existing fighters. Analysts say the decision is a good step to boost political and economic stability in Turkiye, as well as alleviate the tensions created by Kurds' groups in neighboring countries, particularly Iraq, Iran, and Syria. Read also: Algeria's Regime Caught Red-Handed: Kurdish Separatists Hosted in Tindouf Camps However, the statement of the decision did not mention whether it would apply to the group's affiliates in the region. This development is set to change power relations in the region as less tension will be exerted by the Kurds, thus contributing to peace and stability in the region. Background of the decision The PKK declared on March 1 its decision to take a unilateral ceasefire in its 40-year insurgency against the Turkish government. The ceasefire decision took place after the PKK's imprisoned Ocalan, called on his militants to disarm, urging Turkiye for his release in order to facilitate the organization's disarmament. Turkiye welcomed the ceasefire decision, but tensions remained between authorities and the Kurds. However, Kurds also expect that Ankara will halt its offensive operations against the primarily Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is allied with the US in its fight against ISIS in northeastern Syria. The Kurdish struggle in Turkiye The Kurds comprise nearly one-fifth of Turkiye's population of 79 million. They hold a population of roughly 30 million in the Middle East, and predominantly live in Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkiye. Abdullah Ocalan established the PKK in 1978. The group started an insurgency against Ankara since 1984, demanding greater cultural and political rights, and has long sought establishing an independent Kurdish state. Recently Turkiye, has seen an increasing popular discontent with the June 2013 Gezi Park protests and the July 2016 coup attempt. Tensions have also reemerged between Turkish authorities and Kurdish groups. Turkish authorities in the southeast have received several attacks from different Kurdish groups. These include, in particular, the PKK, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a left-wing pro-Kurdish party, and the People's Protection Unit (YPG), the armed wing of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) with ties to the PKK. Tags: Kurish peoplePKK TurkiyeTurkiye
The National
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Al Shara's feud with Kurds dims Syria's hopes of stability
A feud between Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara and the country's Kurds over the shape of the new order in Damascus has shattered a two-month respite in tensions between two groups who control the country's most lethal military forces. The tensions have also widened the fault line between the regime and the country's minorities as sectarian killings mount, undermining Mr Al Shara's quest for international legitimacy after a 14-year civil war. In the past 24 hours gunmen reportedly killed four members of the Alawite sect in Homs, the latest in a wave of attacks in the city. In a statement on Sunday, Mr Al Shara accused the US-backed, mostly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of undermining a March 10 deal to join the new state, by convening a Kurdish conference on Saturday in Qamishli that demanded decentralisation. He also accused the SDF of separatism, although a final declaration from the conference called only for an equitable sharing of resources and the recognition of Kurdish as an official language. Most of Syria's commodities and all its oil are produced in the east of the country, which is ethnically mixed between Arabs and Kurds. An SDF official said joint committees set up with the regime under the March 10 deal would continue their work. He said Mr Shara had condemned the Kurds to satisfy his own hardline supporters, as well as Turkey, an avowed enemy of the SDF. The March deal was vague but the two sides had set up committees to seek agreement on the main issues of oil, how to integrate the SDF in new military structures, and the fate of the current SDF-controlled administration in part of Syria. The official said the Kurdish issue "will not be decided by either Al Shara, nor us", pointing out the presence of French and US officials at the Kurdish conference. The two countries, he said, have made clear their preference for decentralisation, while Turkey does not want the Kurds to hold sway. Mr Al Shara leads Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a former Al Qaeda affiliate that led the removal of the regime of Bashar Al Assad last year. Although Western governments have engaged with the new regime, especially those in Europe eager for the return of Syrian refugees, they have stressed the need to take counter-terrorism measures and preserve minority rights. Mr Al Shara and HTS remain designated as terrorists in the US and Europe. The Kurdish writer Hosheng Ossi said Mr Al Shara's condemnation "was written with Turkish ink", marking a major departure from the "soft language" the President has been using with the Kurds. "Syria's Kurdish streets have united," Mr Ossi said. "The Kurds have agreed between themselves on a package of demands that do not contradict internationally recognised human rights principles. This terrifies Al Shara, because the Kurds are also well-organised militarily, and have an administration." Majority-Sunni Syria shed more than five decades of Alawite-centric Assad family rule after forces led by HTS swept from the north into Damascus last year. The ensuing Sunni political ascendancy has changed Middle Eastern power dynamics to the disadvantage of Shiite Iran, and Russia, the main backers of the former regime. However, clashes broke out between the country's new rulers and the Kurds, who had carved out large areas of territory in the east with US backing during the civil war, and set up a secular administration. Mr Al Shara has assumed control of a country subjected to decades of social engineering by the Assads, who built new support bases for the regime by distributing land and other assets. These changes, accentuated by the dynamics of the civil war, caused and deepened many schisms. They include the Arab-Kurdish divide and resentment from many Sunnis of the privileges granted to the Alawite sect, whose members provided the core strike force for the regime in the civil war. Faced with a powerful player in the east, Mr Al Shara has focused his power-consolidation drive on Alawite areas in the centre and west of the country, as well as southern areas near Jordan separately run by Sunni and Druze forces. Over the last four months, he has sent forces to subdue Alawite heartland regions and arrest former regime loyalists there. The campaign culminated in the killing of 1,300 Alawites, mostly civilians, on March 7 and 8, after the incursions by government forces and allied paramilitaries were met by ambushes. Clashes also occurred between HTS-led forces and members of the Druze sect, whose spiritual leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al Hijri, had opened channels with Israel, in a quest for protection. Over the last month, the government has recruited hundreds of Druze in their ancestral region of Suweida, near the border with Jordan, to its new security forces. Druze militias loyal to Sheikh Al Hijri have responded by raising their presence in the streets of Suweida, and activating patrols on the border of the province, residents say. In Homs, there was a return to identity-based killings of Alawites over the weekend. Mutaz Shalqab, a Sunni figure in the city, said that one Alawite woman was killed with her two children, while another victim was a mentally impaired Alawite man. That was in addition to the bodies of 14 Alawites abducted and killed. Mr Shalqab said that Mr Al Shara and the his deputies should apprehend the killers "even if they are their brothers". "If this chaos continues the ship of the new state will sink," Mr Shalqab said. "We will end up like Rwanda".
