No Surrender! 💪 Kurdish Forces Stand Firm but Open to Uniting with Syria's Future Army
The top commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, has declared that his fighters have no plans to lay down their weapons or disband their ranks. But here's the twist: they're totally down to chat about joining Syria's future military structure! 🤝
In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya on Saturday, Abdi sent a clear message: any plan other than a joint agreement could \"lead to major problems.\" Yikes! 😬
\"We haven't decided to give up our arms or disband,\" Abdi said. \"But we're open to talks about forming a single national army. We're all for unity!\" 🇸🇾
The SDF has even proposed creating a joint military committee to hash out the details. But Abdi is firm on one thing: \"We don't support having two separate armies in Syria.\"
Feeling left out, Abdi noted that the SDF wasn't invited to meetings led by Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, about integrating different factions into a new defense ministry. \"The outcome of those meetings doesn't concern us because we weren't part of them,\" he said. Ouch! 😕
He also emphasized that the SDF's relationship with al-Sharaa \"depends on actions, not words.\" Talk is cheap, after all! 🗣️💬
Addressing rumors swirling around, Abdi denied that Iran has been supplying the SDF with weapons. \"We don't need Iranian arms, including drones,\" he stated. He highlighted the importance of U.S. forces as mediators: \"We value the presence of American troops in Syria to help narrow differences in viewpoints.\"
The SDF, boosted by U.S. support and made up largely of Kurdish units, controls significant areas in northern and eastern Syria. 🌍
Interestingly, an SDF delegation met with al-Sharaa in Damascus on December 30th for the first time since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government on December 8th, 2024. 🗓️
Amid all this, there's been a whirlwind of action! 🚀 In early December, forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham made a surprise advance into Damascus. At the same time, Turkish-backed factions launched an offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, pushing the SDF out of some areas.
It's important to note that Turkiye views the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 🇹🇷
While the new Syrian administration hasn't commented on Abdi's statements, officials have previously expressed a desire to bring all factions together into one national force. Unity might just be the name of the game! ✌️
Reference(s):
Kurdish-led militia rejects disarmament, calls for integration
cgtn.com
