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Syria’s Kurds criticise Damascus ‘threats’
OMAR OIL FIELD , Syria, March 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Syria’s Kurds have
criticised the “threatening language” of the Damascus regime after it pledged
to retake northeastern areas they control by reconciliation or by force.
The minority have largely stayed out of Syria’s war, instead carving out a
de-facto autonomous region across a large swathe of northern and northeastern
Syria.
That region is held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who have
been battling the Islamic State group with backing from a US-led coalition.
Syrian Defence Minister Ali Abdullah Ayoub on Monday said his government
would recapture all areas held by the SDF “in one of two ways: a
reconciliation agreement or… by force”.
In a statement late Monday, the semi-autonomous administration slammed his
comments.
“The Syrian defence minister’s statement regarding the SDF… reflects the
continuation of the racist and sterile policy that has led Syria to this
disastrous situation,” it said in a statement.
“The use of threatening language against the SDF who have liberated and
protected the north and east of Syria from terrorists only serves those
forces working to divide Syria,” it said.
US President Donald Trump’s announcement in December of a pullout of all
American forces from Syria shocked the Kurds and sent them grappling to mend
fences with Damascus.
Dialogue between both sides has been ongoing, but has failed to bear fruit.
Damascus rejects Kurdish self-rule and wants a return of government
institutions to oil-rich SDF-held areas.
The Kurds want protection from a long-threatened Turkish offensive, but
seek some form of decentralisation from Damascus.
“The autonomous administration… stands by its position of the need for a
solution and dialogue within the Syrian framework for all pending issues,”
the Kurdish authorities said.
“But we want all sides to know that we, while choosing the political
solution, we will spare no effort in the legitimate defence of our rights if
necessary,” he said.
Eight years into a war that has killed more than 370,000 people, the
Damascus regime controls almost two-thirds of the country after a series of
victories against rebels and jihadists.
But the SDF-held region, a northwestern jihadist bastion and border areas
held by Turkey’s Syrian proxies remain beyond its control.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1542 hrs