Protests against Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces in some areas of Syria

(May 10) The US hopes that the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that is supported by the US will continue to control a large area of Syria.

SDF controls huge amounts of territory outside of traditional Kurdish area

Many areas outside of traditional Kurd-controlled territory were seized by the SDF when they defeated ISIS with the support of the US. The US hopes that this territory will remain under control of the SDF rather than revert to control by the Assad regime.

However many local Arab tribesmen in these areas do not like SDF control and want control returned to local tribes.

Kurds kill protesters

The Kurds see the protests as helping Iran and Turkey and possibly undermining their victory against ISIS. So far, the main reaction of the Kurds has been to break up the protests killing some no doubt on the ground they are terrorists. SDF forces showed up in Deir el-Zour during a protest. They opened fire killing seven and sending the rest fleeing. This is likely to create more unrest but for the present as long as the Kurds can claim the protests are generated by Iran or ISIS the US is unlikely to complain very loudly.

The Arab tribesmen who are protesting demand better services, jobs, and a larger role in decision-making. The protests are limited to about a dozen villages for now, but they are a growing challenge to the SDF and the US. The demonstrations may serve as an excuse not to remove too many US troops from the area.

An anonymous SDF official said that the protesters were just a small percentage of Deir el-Zour residents but the protests were of benefit to the Assad regime, its Iranian backers and Turkey. He also claimed they were undermining the SDF military victory of ISIS.

Kurds hold talks with local officials

Local officials have held several rounds of talks with the SDF but so far have not made any progress. Although the SDF is not all Kurdish the Kurds are predominant in the group. The SDF was founded in 2015, armed by the US and was meant to fight to fight ISIS. Some are worried that the protests could end up in an uprising against SDF control.

Deir el Zour province is mostly Arab and is uneasy with Kurd rule

The province is suffering from a lack of services, rising crime, fuel shortages, and anger at the perceived growing Kurdish influence.

Some protesters believe that Kurdish fighters sell oil to Assad loyalists as there are severe fuel shortages in Assad-controlled areas aggravated by US sanctions on Syria and Iran. The residents also are angry at forced recruitment by the SDF of Arab residents.

Omar Abu Laila, an activist from the area based in Europe said: “People are fed up with the SDF. They are robbing the wealth of the people in the region.”

Bassam Barabandi a former Syrian diplomat also detailed complaints about the SDF: “The pace of rehabilitation, economic development and provision of essential services has not been sufficient to meet the basic needs of the population. As a result, people are feeling very hopeless about their current situation and the future. They do not see the regime as an acceptable alternative, and they are looking for the U.S. to act.”

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Civilans killed as rockets and mortars hit predominantly Kurdish area of Aleppo

Attacks by rockets and mortars hit a predominantly Kurdish area in the city of Aleppo, Syria. The area is under the control of the Syrian government of Bashir Assad.

Reports on the number of casualties vary. ABC claims 13 civilians were killed and 40 wounded according the government and also one opposition group. However the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in the UK said that nine civilians were killed, including four children, with dozens more wounded. The Observatory also claimed more than 70 rockets and mortar shells rained down on the Sheikh Maqsoud area.

The Observatory said the firing was by insurgents including the Al-Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front. The Front did not take part in negotiations for the recent ceasefire brokered by Russia and the U.S. Spokesperson Redir Xelil from the People's Protection Unit (YPG) also claimed the attacks killed nine civilians, including four children, two women and three men. An early report by Syrian state media claimed 14 were killed.

Fighting with the Islamic State and the Nusra Front continues but there has been a sharp drop in violence since the ceasefire came into effect, in spite of a number of reports of violations by both sides. The U.S. and Russia hope both sides will return to peace negotiations brokered by the UN next week. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that in a telephone conversation, both Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, had "an overall positive assessment of the progress toward securing the cease-fire in Syria, which is being generally observed and already has led to a sharp decrease in the level of violence." Although less aid has been delivered to besieged areas than expected, nevertheless, there has been "significant improvement" in humanitarian access. Some observers thought the Syria military might capture all of Aleppo before the ceasefire but that did not happen. The city has been contested by both sides for years and much of the city has been badly damaged.

In other Syria news, the U.S. appears to be expanding it operations in northeast Syria in areas controlled by the Kurdish YPG and is working on two separate air bases. While the U.S. Central Command issued a statement denying that the U.S. had any direct control over any airfields in Syria it did not deny that the projects were ongoing.

Turkey may create buffer zone on its border with Syria

Turkish president Recep Erdogan, in an anti-Kurdish speech, said that he would not allow the formation of a separate Kurdish state in Syria. There are reports he is ordering the military to carve out a buffer zone to prevent IS and Kurdish advances.

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In his speech Erdogan said: “I am saying this to the whole world: We will never allow the establishment of a state on our southern border in the north of Syria. We will continue our fight in that respect whatever the cost may be.”He also accused the Kurds of ethnic cleansing in the areas they control. If Turkey attacks the Kurds to create a buffer zone, this will cause tension with the U.S. that has backed the Kurds in their fight against the Islamic State and enabled them to regain territory such as the border town of Kobane. The move might also be seen by the US as bolstering the Islamic State. The priority of Turkey is the fight against Assad rather than defeating the Islamic State whereas the U.S. priority appears to be to defeat IS.

Haaretz reports that the Turkish military has been instructed to prepare itself to create a 110-km-long, 33-km-deep buffer zone along its border with Syria to counter IS and Kurdish advances. The report was in the pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper. The decision perhaps has yet to be made — there are reports that the military is opposed to any such move. Erdogan is chairing a National Security Council meeting today (June 29) where he will be pushing his decision to create the zone. Turkey has long tried to persuade the U.S. to create a no-fly zone safe area in Syria.

Most in the west have cheered the Kurds on as they have gained ground from the Islamic State. They recently drove IS from Kobane once again with huge civilian losses after the group had infiltrated the town. Locals say up to 300 civilians were slaughtered before IS fighters were driven out. The Kurds have not fought against Assad most of the time and have been concerned with consolidating their control over areas they occupy and seizing more territory from the Islamic State when they are able. Turkey wants to defeat Assad and also is worried that having an autonomous or separate Kurdish state on its border would increase demands from its own Kurdish minority. In recent Turkish elections Turkey's 14 million Kurds made considerable gains.

Some analysts doubt that political circumstances are favourable for Erdogan's plan, as he still has not found a partner to form a coalition government after his recent setback in elections. General Ozel, the Turkish military chief of staff has actually delayed earlier directives asking him to intervene in Syria. He maintains that any such move might violate international law. The Telegraph reports that Erdogan has authorised a change in the rules of engagement previously agreed by the Turkish parliament to allow the army to strike at Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as well as the Assad regime. He changed them so as to create the buffer zone which he says is mainly intended to prevent the emergence of a Kurdish state in the north. The move would also help to alleviate the continual flood of refugees across the border into Turkey. Refugees numbers are approaching two million making Turkey host to the largest number of refugees in the world.

Battle for Syrian border town Kobani heats up

While the Islamic State appears to have suffered significant casualties in the long conflict over the Syrian town Kobani( or Kobane) on the border with Turkey the Kurdish troops in the town appear to be at a disadvantage at present.

Kurdish officials now claim that Kobani is totally surrounded by Islamic State forces. While most Islamic State forces are to the south and east there have now been smaller raids from the west and even worse from the north which is quite close to the Turkish border. Kurdish officials even claimed that Islamic State fighters were crossing over from the Turkish side of the border. Turkey denies that this is happening but did admit that the border crossing was bombed. The Kurds are suspicious that Turkey may be cooperating with IS on the siege. However, another explanation of the events is that IS decided to send troops to the north of Kobani to prevent reinforcements arriving from Turkey or even to promote the Kurd's suspicions that Turkey is working with them.
  Al Jazeera reports that according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that at least 50 IS fighters have been killed during the last 24 hours in the fight for Kobani. The deaths were due to clashes, suicide bombings, and U.S. air strikes. This is said to be the largest number of casualties since the IS assault began on September 16. Eleven Kurdish fighters were also reported killed along with a Syrian supporter. ABC news reports that the attack said to be from Turkey began with a suicide bomber who drove an armored vehicle into the border crossing with Turkey where he detonated his explosives. A spokesperson for the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, Nawaf Khalli said that with the attack the IS were now attacking from all four sides. While the Turkish government also acknowledged the attack on the border crossing a government statement claimed the vehicle had not come from the Turkish side of the border: "Claims that the vehicle reached the border gate by crossing through Turkish soil are a lie. Contrary to certain claims, no Turkish official has made any statement claiming that the bomb-loaded vehicle had crossed in from Turkey.The security forces who are on alert in the border region have ... taken all necessary measures." On the other side Mustafa Bali, an activist in Kobani claimed that IS (Daesh) fighters were in grain silos on the Turkish side of the border and are launching attacks from there: "It is now clear that Turkey is openly cooperating with Daesh,"
A Kurdish source also complained that Turkish bombardment of Kobani had wounded a number of civilians and fighters. Anwar Muslim co-chair of the Kohane canton said: “Under the pretense of stopping an ISIS attack on Turkey the Turkish army bombarded the center of Kobane with tanks and artillery. A number of civilians and fighters have been wounded.” The Turkish government is worried that the Kurds will set up an independent area in Syria and that this could encourage Kurdish demands for more autonomy within Turkey. Turkey as with other rebel groups sees the first priority as getting rid of Assad, whereas the Kurds have been reluctant to fight against Assad as long as his forces do not attack them.
The Kurds have concentrated on protecting areas they control and building government and infrastructure in those areas.The standoff with Assad has been in place for a long time complicating Kurdish relationships to other rebels but at the same time making Kurdish controlled areas some of the most secure in Syria. The Turkish government has shown considerable reluctance to provide much in the way of aid for the Kurds even though many western powers have been urging them to do so.

Kurds in northern Syria fight off jihadist attacks across Turkish border

In the city of Ras al-Ain in the Kurdish area of northern Syria, fighting rages between several radical groups who crossed the border from Turkey and joined battle against Kurdish militia defending the city.

In order to conserve his military power, Assad withdrew his troops from Kurdish areas of Syria allowing the Kurds to be more or less autonomous. The Kurds themselves are divided on whether to support or fight against the Assad regime and are staying more or less neutral while defending control of the area they occupy.

Attacks on Ras al-Ain have caused many residents to flee the city. The jihadists were from the Al-Nusra Front and Ghuraba al-Sham. A resident said that:

"the fighting became more intense in the evening after Kurdish fighters received reinforcements to try to stop the fiercest rebel assault ever since insurgents first arrived in the city"

Al-Nusra Front is listed by the US as a terrorist organization a designation that is opposed by Syrian rebels since the group are active and effective fighters against Assad.

A Kurdish activist, living in Ras al-Kain said that the jihadists crossed the nearby Turkish border with three tanks and entered the city. He claimed the Kurdish militia seized one tank.The activist noted:

“The advancing rebels did not use the tanks to fight the regime. Instead, they used them to shell Ras al-Ain."

One wonders how jihadists are able to get tanks in Turkey without the Turkish government being aware of what is happening.

Kurdish analysts suspect that Turkey may be using the jihadists to wage their own battle against Kurds. Many worry about the consequences of a continuing battle between Kurds and jihadists. Prominent Kurdish journalist and activist Massoud Akko said:

“Should the fight morph into a struggle between Kurds and Arabs... Syria and the revolt [against Assad] are both in real danger.”