On Monday, the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) signed a deal to merge into the new Syrian government, which is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an offshoot of al-Qaeda.
The deal was signed between SDF chief Mazloum Abdi and Syria’s de-facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani. The SDF controls a significant portion of Syria’s northeast, where there are about 2,000 US troops deployed.
According to a statement from Sharaa’s office, the deal will “integrate all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the [Qamishli International] Airport, and oil and gas fields.”
The agreement comes after Sharaa’s HTS forces conducted a series of massacres in northwest Syria amid fighting with militias in the region, killing around 1,000 civilians, the vast majority being Alawites, although some Christians were slaughtered as well.
In response to the massacres, Sharaa ordered the creation of a committee that he claims will investigate the “reasons, circumstances and context.” Local sources said most of the perpetrators of the massacres were foreigners, Uzbeks, Uyghurs, and Chechens, and only a small percentage were Syrian. The HTS-led government absorbed foreign jihadists into its military and appointed some to senior roles.
While his forces just went on a killing spree against minorities in the northwest, Sharaa still insists that his government will be “inclusive.” The deal he signed with Abdi says that all Syrians will be part of the political process regardless of religion or ethnicity and pledges the Kurds will have their “constitutional rights.”
The SDF has been battling with Turkey and its proxy, the Syrian National Army (SNA), in northern Syria, and those clashes continued on Monday as Abdi was signing the deal with Sharaa. Turkey considers the SDF the Syrian wing of the PKK, which has fought Ankara for decades.
The PKK’s jailed leader recently called for the group to disarm, which was followed by the PKK announcing a ceasefire with Turkey. But Turkey has continued military operations against Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq.
WikiLeaks •
@wikileaks Hillary Clinton email: Israeli intelligence says collapse of Syria will spark a Sunni-Shite war that will benefit #Israel
http://wikileaks.org/clinton-emails… . #Syria #Iran
https://x.com/Partisangirl/status/1898899805457555908
It makes no sense: this is being misrepresented. You can't mix oil and water.
The reasons for the merger are not convincing…! I forecast a coup d'état in the future…!
Syria leader vows to hunt down those responsible for bloodshed.
The violence in Syria was sparked after ambushes on government forces on Thursday. A Syrian defence ministry spokesman described it to the Sana state news agency as "treacherous attacks" against security personnel.
Syria's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to hold anyone involved in harming civilians accountable after days of clashes where Syrian security forces allegedly killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority.
"We affirm that we will hold accountable, firmly and without leniency, anyone who is involved in the bloodshed of civilians or harming our people, who overstepped the powers of the state or exploits authority to achieve his own ends," Sharaa said in the video speech, posted by state news agency Sana.
"No-one will be above the law and anyone whose hands are stained with the blood of Syrians will face justice sooner rather than later," he added.
Earlier he announced on Telegram that an "independent committee" had been formed to "investigate the violations against civilians and identify those responsible for them".
The Alawites are the second-largest religious group in Syria after Sunni Muslims. Their faith is an offshoot Shi'ite Islam. Bashir al-Assad was Alawite, and the Assad regime recruited heavily from the Alawite community for its army and security apparatus, which was notorious for its brutality during more than five decades of family rule.