Latest news with #SyrianKurds
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First Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
'An irreversible turning point': Turkey seeks to close chapter on Kurdish movement as PKK disarms
As Kurdish armed group PKK started disarmament today as part of its dissolution, Turkey claimed it as a 'milestone' and an 'irreversible turning point' in the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. read more Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Turkey's jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to lay down its arms on Thursday, a move that could end its 40-year conflict with Ankara and have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo As the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) laid down arms in a ceremony on Friday, Turkey sought to close the chapter on the Kurdish movement and declared the moment as a 'milestone' and an 'irreversible turning point' in the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. In line with the previous announcement to disarm, Kurdish group PKK destroyed their first batch of weapons at a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday. Earlier this year, Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed PKK leader, announced that the group would disarm, dissolve, and give up the armed movement for a political struggle. Since the foundation in 1984, the PKK had waged an insurgency against the Turkish rule for the rights of Kurds who form around 20 per cent of Turkey's population. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ahead of the PKK's first round of disarmament, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said over the weekend that the Turkish-Kurdish reconciliation 'will gain a little more speed when the terrorist organisation starts to implement its decision to lay down arms' — Turkey has designated the PKK as a terrorist organisation. 'We hope this auspicious process will end successfully as soon as possible, without mishaps or sabotage attempts,' Erdogan further said on Wednesday. The 'historic' disarmament ceremony In a ceremony in the Casene cave in northern Iraq, around 30 Kurdish militants burnt their weapons, according to an AFP correspondent. 'Thirty PKK fighters, four of whom were commanders, burned their weapons,' the correspondent said, who was present at the cave near the city of Sulaimaniyah, in the Iraq's Kurdistan province. Kurds are an ethnic people with large populations in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. They do not have any nation of their own. The Casene cave has been symbolically associated with Kurds, according to AFP. The news agency further said that the cave once housed a Kurdish printing press. The PKK's disarmament has come after monthslong indirect negotiations between PKK leader Ocalan and Erdogan's government. The AFP reported that talks were mediated by Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party and were approved by Erdogan. The disarmament was 'a historic, democratic move', PKK members burning their weapons said, adding they hoped that it would 'bring about peace and freedom', according to AFP. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Analysts have said that the disarmament at own accord was a face-saving move owing to the military weakening of the PKK over the years. A senior Turkish official told the news agency, 'The laying down of arms by PKK militants in Sulaimaniyah —a milestone of the third stage of the ongoing disarmament and decommissioning process— marks a concrete and welcome step. We view this development as an irreversible turning point.'
Al-Ahram Weekly
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Syria's government and Kurds still at odds over merging forces : US envoy
A U.S. envoy said Wednesday that Syria's central government and the Kurds remain at odds over plans on merging their forces after the latest round of talks, a persistent obstacle as the new authorities in Damascus struggle to consolidate control after the country's yearslong civil war. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also a special envoy to Syria, told The Associated Press after meetings in Damascus, the Syrian capital, that there are still significant differences between the sides. Barrack held talks with Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led and U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The development comes after a move by the Trump administration took effect this week, revoking a terrorism designation of the former insurgent group led by al-Sharaa, which was behind a lightning offensive last December that ousted Syria's longtime autocrat Bashar Assad. Revoking the designation was part of a broader U.S. engagement with al-Sharaa's new, transitional government. A deal vague in details In early March, the former insurgents — now the new authorities in Damascus — signed a landmark deal with the SDF, a Kurdish-led force that had fought alongside U.S. troops against the militant Islamic State group and which controls much of northeastern Syria. Under that deal, the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The agreement, which is supposed be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government's control. They are now controlled by the SDF. Detention centers housing thousands of Islamic State militants, now guarded by the SDF, would also come under government control. However, the agreement left the details vague, and progress on implementation has been slow. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army — which the Syrian Kurds are pushing for — or whether the force would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military. Barrack said that is still 'a big issue' between the two sides. 'Baby steps' 'I don't think there's a breakthrough,' Barrack said after Wednesday's meetings. 'I think these things happen in baby steps, because it's built on trust, commitment and understanding." He added that "for two parties that have been apart for a while and maybe an adversarial relationship for a while, they have to build that trust step by step.' Also, Turkish-backed factions affiliated with the new Syrian government have over the years clashed with the SDF, which Turkey considers a terrorist group because of its association with the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which had waged a decades-long insurgency within Turkey before recently announcing it would lay down its weapons. The United States also considers the PKK a terrorist group but is allied with the SDF. Barrack said that though 'we're not there' yet, Damascus had 'done a great job" in presenting options for the SDF to consider. "I hope they will and I hope they'll do it quickly,' he said. From skepticism to trust A key turning point for Syria came when U.S. President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that Washington would lift decades of sanctions, imposed over Assad's government. Trump took steps to do so after their meeting and subsequently, the U.S. moved to remove the terrorist designation from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, al-Sharaa's force that spearheaded the offensive against Assad. The U.S. played a key role in brokering the deal announced in March between al-Sharaa's government and the SDF and has urged the Syrian Kurdish authorities to integrate with Damascus. Barrack said Washington has 'complete confidence in the Syrian government and the new Syrian government's military,' while the SDF has been a 'valuable partner' in the fight against IS and that the U.S. 'wants to make sure that they have an opportunity ... to integrate into the new government in a respectful way.' The U.S. has begun scaling down the number of troops it has stationed in Syria — there are about 1,300 U.S. forces now — but Barrack said Washington is in 'no hurry' to pull out completely. Prospects of Syria-Israel ties In the interview with the AP, Barrack also downplayed reports of possible breakthroughs in talks on normalizing ties between Syria and Israel. 'My feeling of what's happening in the neighborhood is that it should happen, and it'll happen like unwrapping an onion, slowly ... as the region builds trust with each other,' he said without elaborating. Since Assad's fall, Israel has seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria bordering the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and has launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Israeli soldiers have also raided Syrian towns outside of the border zone and detained people who they said were militants, sometimes clashing with locals. Israeli officials have claimed they are taking the measures to guard their border against another cross-border attack like the one launched by the Palestinian Hamas group on Oct. 7, 2023. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
10-07-2025
- Politics
Syria's government and Kurds still at odds over merging forces after latest talks, US envoy says
DAMASCUS, Syria -- A U.S. envoy said Wednesday that Syria's central government and the Kurds remain at odds over plans on merging their forces after the latest round of talks, a persistent obstacle as the new authorities in Damascus struggle to consolidate control after the country's yearslong civil war. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also a special envoy to Syria, told The Associated Press after meetings in Damascus, the Syrian capital, that there are still significant differences between the sides. Barrack held talks with Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led and U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The development comes after a move by the Trump administration took effect this week, revoking a terrorism designation of the former insurgent group led by al-Sharaa, which was behind a lightning offensive last December that ousted Syria's longtime autocrat Bashar Assad. Revoking the designation was part of a broader U.S. engagement with al-Sharaa's new, transitional government. In early March, the former insurgents — now the new authorities in Damascus — signed a landmark deal with the SDF, a Kurdish-led force that had fought alongside U.S. troops against the militant Islamic State group and which controls much of northeastern Syria. Under that deal, the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The agreement, which is supposed be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government's control. They are now controlled by the SDF. Detention centers housing thousands of Islamic State militants, now guarded by the SDF, would also come under government control. However, the agreement left the details vague, and progress on implementation has been slow. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army — which the Syrian Kurds are pushing for — or whether the force would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military. Barrack said that is still 'a big issue' between the two sides. 'I don't think there's a breakthrough,' Barrack said after Wednesday's meetings. 'I think these things happen in baby steps, because it's built on trust, commitment and understanding." He added that "for two parties that have been apart for a while and maybe an adversarial relationship for a while, they have to build that trust step by step.' Also, Turkish-backed factions affiliated with the new Syrian government have over the years clashed with the SDF, which Turkey considers a terrorist group because of its association with the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which had waged a decades-long insurgency within Turkey before recently announcing it would lay down its weapons. The United States also considers the PKK a terrorist group but is allied with the SDF. Barrack said that though 'we're not there' yet, Damascus had 'done a great job" in presenting options for the SDF to consider. "I hope they will and I hope they'll do it quickly,' he said. A key turning point for Syria came when U.S. President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that Washington would lift decades of sanctions, imposed over Assad's government. Trump took steps to do so after their meeting and subsequently, the U.S. moved to remove the terrorist designation from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, al-Sharaa's force that spearheaded the offensive against Assad. The U.S. played a key role in brokering the deal announced in March between al-Sharaa's government and the SDF and has urged the Syrian Kurdish authorities to integrate with Damascus. Barrack said Washington has 'complete confidence in the Syrian government and the new Syrian government's military,' while the SDF has been a 'valuable partner' in the fight against IS and that the U.S. 'wants to make sure that they have an opportunity ... to integrate into the new government in a respectful way.' The U.S. has begun scaling down the number of troops it has stationed in Syria — there are about 1,300 U.S. forces now — but Barrack said Washington is in 'no hurry' to pull out completely. In the interview with the AP, Barrack also downplayed reports of possible breakthroughs in talks on normalizing ties between Syria and Israel. 'My feeling of what's happening in the neighborhood is that it should happen, and it'll happen like unwrapping an onion, slowly ... as the region builds trust with each other,' he said without elaborating. Since Assad's fall, Israel has seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria bordering the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and has launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Israeli soldiers have also raided Syrian towns outside of the border zone and detained people who they said were militants, sometimes clashing with locals. Israeli officials have said they are taking the measures to guard their border against another cross-border attack like the one launched by the Palestinian militant Hamas group on Oct. 7, 2023 in southern Israel that triggered the latest war in the Gaza Strip.
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Syria, Kurds still at odds over merging forces
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A US envoy said on Wednesday that Syria's central government and the Kurds remain at odds over plans on merging their forces after the latest round of talks, a persistent obstacle as the new authorities in Damascus struggle to consolidate control after the country's yearslong civil war. US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also a special envoy to Syria, told The Associated Press after meetings in Damascus, the Syrian capital, that there are still significant differences between the two sides. Barrack held talks with Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led and US backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and Syria's interim President Ahmad Sharaa. The development comes after a move by the Trump administration took effect this week, revoking a terrorism designation of the former insurgent group led by Sharaa, which was behind a lightning offensive last December that ousted Syria's longtime autocrat Bashar Assad. Revoking the designation was part of a broader US engagement with al-Sharaa's new, transitional government. In early March, the former insurgents — now the new authorities in Damascus — signed a landmark deal with the SDF, a Kurdish-led force that had fought alongside US troops against the militant Islamic State group and which controls much of northeastern Syria. Under that deal, the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The agreement, which is supposed be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government's control. They are now controlled by the SDF. Detention centers housing thousands of Islamic State militants, now guarded by the SDF, would also come under government control. However, the agreement left the details vague, and progress on implementation has been slow. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army — which the Syrian Kurds are pushing for — or whether the force would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military. Barrack said that is still 'a big issue' between the two sides. 'I don't think there's a breakthrough,' Barrack said after Wednesday's meetings. 'I think these things happen in baby steps, because it's built on trust, commitment and understanding." He added that "for two parties that have been apart for a while and maybe an adversarial relationship for a while, they have to build that trust step by step.' Also, Turkish-backed factions affiliated with the new Syrian government have over the years clashed with the SDF, which Turkey considers a terrorist group because of its association with the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which had waged a decadeslong insurgency within Turkey before recently announcing it would lay down its weapons. The US also considers the PKK a terrorist group but is allied with the SDF. Barrack said that though 'we're not there' yet, Damascus had 'done a great job" in presenting options for the SDF to consider. "I hope they will and I hope they'll do it quickly,' he said. A key turning point for Syria came when US President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that Washington would lift decades of sanctions, imposed over Assad's government. Trump took steps to do so after their meeting and subsequently, the US moved to remove the terrorist designation from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, al-Sharaa's force that spearheaded the offensive against Assad. The US played a key role in brokering the deal announced in March between Sharaa's government and the SDF and has urged the Syrian Kurdish authorities to integrate with Damascus. Barrack said Washington has 'complete confidence in the Syrian government and the new Syrian government's military,' while the SDF has been a 'valuable partner' in the fight against IS and that the US. 'wants to make sure that they have an opportunity ... to integrate into the new government in a respectful way.' The US has begun scaling down the number of troops it has stationed in Syria — there are about 1,300 US forces now — but Barrack said Washington is in 'no hurry' to pull out completely. In the interview with the AP, Barrack also downplayed reports of possible breakthroughs in talks on normalizing ties between Syria and Israel. 'My feeling of what's happening in the neighborhood is that it should happen, and it'll happen like unwrapping an onion, slowly ... as the region builds trust with each other,' he said without elaborating. Since Assad's fall, Israel has seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone in Syria bordering the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and has launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Israeli soldiers have also raided Syrian towns outside of the border zone and detained people who they said were militants, sometimes clashing with locals. Israeli officials have said they are taking the measures to guard their border against another cross-border attack like the one launched by the Palestinian militant Hamas group on Oct. 7, 2023 in southern Israel that triggered the latest war in the Gaza Strip.
Japan Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Syria's government and Kurds still at odds over merging forces after latest talks, U.S. envoy says
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the airport in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed) By ABBY SEWELL A U.S. envoy said on Wednesday that Syria's central government and the Kurds remain at odds over plans on merging their forces after the latest round of talks, a persistent obstacle as the new authorities in Damascus struggle to consolidate control after the country's yearslong civil war. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also a special envoy to Syria, told The Associated Press after meetings in Damascus, the Syrian capital, that there are still significant differences between the two sides. Barrack held talks with Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led and U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces, and Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The development comes after a move by the Trump administration took effect this week, revoking a terrorism designation of the former insurgent group led by al-Sharaa, which was behind a lightning offensive last December that ousted Syria's longtime autocrat Bashar Assad. Revoking the designation was part of a broader U.S. engagement with al-Sharaa's new, transitional government. In early March, the former insurgents — now the new authorities in Damascus — signed a landmark deal with the SDF, a Kurdish-led force that had fought alongside U.S. troops against the militant Islamic State group and which controls much of northeastern Syria. Under that deal, the SDF forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The agreement, which is supposed be implemented by the end of the year, would also bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government's control. They are now controlled by the SDF. Detention centers housing thousands of Islamic State militants, now guarded by the SDF, would also come under government control. However, the agreement left the details vague, and progress on implementation has been slow. A major sticking point has been whether the SDF would remain as a cohesive unit in the new army — which the Syrian Kurds are pushing for — or whether the force would be dissolved and its members individually absorbed into the new military. Barrack said that is still 'a big issue' between the two sides. 'I don't think there's a breakthrough,' Barrack said after Wednesday's meetings. 'I think these things happen in baby steps, because it's built on trust, commitment and understanding." He added that "for two parties that have been apart for a while and maybe an adversarial relationship for a while, they have to build that trust step by step.' Also, Turkish-backed factions affiliated with the new Syrian government have over the years clashed with the SDF, which Turkey considers a terrorist group because of its association with the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which had waged a decades-long insurgency within Turkey before recently announcing it would lay down its weapons. The United States also considers the PKK a terrorist group but is allied with the SDF. Barrack said that though 'we're not there' yet, Damascus had 'done a great job" in presenting options for the SDF to consider. "I hope they will and I hope they'll do it quickly,' he said. A key turning point for Syria came when U.S. President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May and announced that Washington would lift decades of sanctions, imposed over Assad's government. Trump took steps to do so after their meeting and subsequently, the U.S. moved to remove the terrorist designation from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, al-Sharaa's force that spearheaded the offensive against Assad. The U.S. played a key role in brokering the deal announced in March between al-Sharaa's government and the SDF and has urged the Syrian Kurdish authorities to integrate with Damascus. Barrack said Washington has 'complete confidence in the Syrian government and the new Syrian government's military,' while the SDF has been a 'valuable partner' in the fight against IS and that the U.S. 'wants to make sure that they have an opportunity ... to integrate into the new government in a respectful way.' The U.S. has begun scaling down the number of troops it has stationed in Syria — there are about 1,300 U.S. forces now — but Barrack said Washington is in 'no hurry' to pull out completely. In the interview with the AP, Barrack also downplayed reports of possible breakthroughs in talks on normalizing ties between Syria and Israel. 'My feeling of what's happening in the neighborhood is that it should happen, and it'll happen like unwrapping an onion, slowly ... as the region builds trust with each other,' he said without elaborating. Since Assad's fall, Israel has seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria bordering the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and has launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Israeli soldiers have also raided Syrian towns outside of the border zone and detained people who they said were militants, sometimes clashing with locals. Israeli officials have said they are taking the measures to guard their border against another cross-border attack like the one launched by the Palestinian militant Hamas group on Oct. 7, 2023 in southern Israel that triggered the latest war in the Gaza Strip. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
