A full-scale Syrian invasion of the Kurdish northeast continues to loom, and now Turkey is chiming in once again, with a Defense Ministry spokesman threatening to move against the Kurdish SDF if they don’t follow through on a March agreement to integrate within the...
Syrian Government Postpones Elections in ‘Unsafe’ Kurdish, Druze Regions
Syria’s parliament is shaping up to be a lot less “unified” than initially advertised, with the ruling government announcing they’re going to postpone elections for the People’s Assembly in three governorates where groups likely to oppose the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham...
Syria’s HTS Government Preps 50,000 Troops for a Large Anti-Kurd Offensive in Northeast
The Islamist Syrian government is trying to give the impression they support peaceful unity in Syria, with President Ahmed al-Sharaa saying he believed Syria should be unified by some sort of understanding instead of by military force, because the Syrian people are...
Turkey FM Warns He Won’t Tolerate Syrian Kurds Becoming Israeli Pawns
Syria’s Foreign Minister was in Ankara today meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, and Fidan took the opportunity, as Turkish officials so often do, to rail about the Kurds threatening regional stability. This time, the warnings were directed at the...
Syria Spurns Kurdish Integration Talks in Paris as Tensions Mount
Over the weekend, the Kurdish SDF held a unity conference in Paris meant to discuss, among other things, how integration with the Islamist Syrian government will actually work. The unity conference was condemned by the government, which refused to take part, claiming...
Syrian Forces Clash With Kurdish SDF in Aleppo Governorate
Despite the ongoing integration deal between the Kurdish SDF and the Islamist HTS-dominated government, government forces attacked SDF positions in the Aleppo Governorate today, sparking a number of substantial battles. Government-linked forces attacked SDF positions...
SDF Spurns US Demands: Laying Down Arms ‘Non-Negotiable’
The Kurdish SDF has rejected the US demand to fully disarm and withdraw from key areas and border crossings in northeast Syria, saying that the idea of laying down arms is “non-negotiable.” SDF representative Sihanouk Dibo said that the group’s long-term vision was to...
US Envoy Faults Kurds as Syria Integration Slows
Back in March, the Kurdish SDF agreed on integration into the Syrian Army. The deal was mostly “in principle” with the details to be worked out in later talks. The process seems to have slowed on a number of different points, and the US isn’t happy. The SDF retains...
ISIS Attacks Kurdish Patrol in Northeast Syria, Killing Three
At least three members of the Kurdish Asayish security forces were killed today in northeastern Syria, according to the group. They said they were targeted by an ISIS cell during a patrol on the road between Raqqa and Hasakeh. The patrol was targeted with a landmine,...
Syrian Troops Clash With Kurdish SDF as Tensions Rise in Northern Syria
While the cooperation between the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government in Syria and the Kurdish SDF originally made it seem like the violence in northern Syria was on the decline, a new round of fighting between those groups has led to increased tensions and...