Kurdish leader: We do not plan to hand over our country to Bashar al-Assad´s forces

Pavel Novotný

Kurds in Syria do not plan to hand over their country to Bashar al-Assad´s forces. They invited Syria government to build here an „observation posts“ only. This is the case of town of Manbij where the regime units arrived after the Russian negotiators broke the step, said the chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) Salih Muslim Muhammad for INFO.CZ.

Democratic Union Party Party is a political wing of People's Protection Units (YPG), the mostly ethnically Kurdish militia which is the leading military force in Rojava. This is a de facto autonomous region in northern Syria regarded by Kurdish nationalists as Western Kurdistan.

„Now we are facing a Turkish invasion. This military operation would probably start in the area of Manbij. Therefore we have invited government forces to build its observation posts in this fragile region. Such facilities should be also established at the border with Turkey. Of course, it does not mean that we hand Rojava over to the regime,“ said Mr. Muslim for INFO.CZ.

He adds that Russian mediators have negotiated that move. And Moscow has clearly defined interests in Syria, said Mr. Muslim. „If Russia wants to play the role of a mediator, we will listen to the proposals,“ Mr. Muslim said.

Treat from Turkey is considered very serious in Rojava, says Mr. Muslim. Turkish troops had already invaded Kurds in northwest Syria at the beginning of this year. „The Turks simply want to expand anywhere in Syria,“ the party leader added.

U. S. President Donald Trump surprisingly announced the withdrawal of US soldiers from Syria this month. He betrayed his Kurdish allies, the media wrote. „Openly, we do not consider it betrayal. We just do not understand the timing of the move. Donald Trump said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant had already been defeated. No, it has not been destroyed yet.“ U. S. military´s official partner in Syria was a militia known as the Syrian Democratic Forces which also includes Arab and Assyrian fighters but is dominated by the YPG.

According to its leader, PYD party is not seeking independence from Syria. Kurds, however, are pushing for a change in the political system. „We ask for autonomy. We want Syria to be decentralized and democratic,“ Mr. Muslim said.

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