ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - As the situation on the ground in Syria rapidly changes, Mazloum Abdi, general commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Friday that they have been in contact with the rebel force Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) about the Kurdish population in Aleppo and that no clashes have occurred between their two sides. “We have contact with Tahrir al-Sham through many channels, typically regarding the protection of our people in Aleppo. Apparently, we have never clashed with them,” Abdi told journalists during a press conference. The SDF commander did not hide worries that the HTS-led rebels could attack Kurdish-held territories in the northeast. “There is a new situation on the ground. We know that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has taken away many areas from the Syrian regime. What concerns us is that our region in northeast Syria should not be targeted. If we are attacked we will defend ourselves,” he said. Syria’s civil conflict was dramatically reignited last week when a coalition of Syrian rebels led by the Islamist HTS launched a blistering offensive against the Syrian army. They quickly took control of the northern city of Aleppo, the most populated urban center in the country, and then advanced into the strategic central province of Hama, capturing the city on Thursday when the Syrian army announced its withdrawal. HTS is the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda and the prominent force among dozens of rebel factions. The group has long controlled a rebel enclave in the northwestern province of Idlib. It has been internationally recognized as a terrorist organization. HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has sought to reassure Syrians, especially minorities, who are concerned about what could lie ahead under possible HTS rule. “No one has the right to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds of years and no one has the right to eliminate them. There must be a legal framework that protects and ensures the rights of all, not a system that serves only one sect as Assad’s regime has done,” he told CNN in an exclusive interview that was released on Friday. Questioned about his terror roots, Jolani said that he is focused on building strong institutions and that demands flexibility. “We’re talking about building Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is merely one detail of this dialogue and it may dissolve at any time. It’s not an end in itself, but a means to perform a task, confronting this regime,” he said. Following the capture of Aleppo, the Syrian National Army (SNA), a Turkey-backed faction, launched an offensive towards the Kurdish-held area of Shahba, causing the displacement of thousands. The two sides reached an unannounced deal to allow the safe movement of people to other Kurdish-held areas, mainly Tabqa in Raqqa province. Most of these people hail from the Kurdish city of Afrin, which was invaded by the SNA and Ankara in 2018. An estimated 32 Yazidi families have also been displaced from Shahba and Aleppo and reached Hasaka province in the Kurdish-held northeast and an unknown number have returned to Afrin, Sarhan Isa, spokesperson for the Syrian Yazidi Council, told Rudaw. Abdi said that they tried to open a safe corridor for fleeing civilians. “What matters to us in these situations is the lives of our people in Aleppo and Shahba. There are local forces consisting of the sons of these areas that were protecting the people. Following the developments, they needed help and we, as the Syrian Democratic Forces, tried to open a safe corridor for them,” Abdi said. The corridor was closed because of attacks and the withdrawal of the regime forces. However, “following diplomatic relations and contacting the global coalition, we were able to evacuate large numbers of our people from those areas, and the attempt continues regarding that matter,” he said. Abdi noted that they want to preserve the Kurdish identity of neighborhoods in Aleppo such as Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieyh. “There are more than 250,000 of our Kurdish people living in Aleppo and our forces are protecting them. We are working to preserve the Kurdish identity in Aleppo and we are contacting the relevant authorities to resolve this issue in diplomatic and political ways,” he said. Abdi said Russia and the global coalition are working to defuse tensions following threats from Turkey, stressing that the SDF wants to resolve its problems with Ankara, which considers the Syrian Kurdish forces terrorists. Abdi said they are ready to work for a peaceful resolution to Syria’s war. “We believe that the previous attempts to resolve Syria’s problems have failed because the representatives of the north and northeast Syria administration have been excluded, and we believe that our people must have representatives for the solution in Syria and we are ready for cooperation,” he said. The surge in violence in the northwest opened a door for Islamic State (ISIS) militants in the central and eastern deserts. “There are increased activities of ISIS mercenaries in the Badia region, and the south, and east of Deir ez-Zor, and Raqqa. There are movements and they have controlled some areas recently,” Abdi said, adding that they are working with the global coalition to recapture the areas. Rebels continue to advance as regime forces continue to withdraw from strategic cities. Local media reported on Friday that regime forces have begun withdrawing from Deir ez-Zor province. Damascus officials are using diplomatic channels in an attempt to control the situation. Foreign Minister Bassam al-Sabbagh visited Baghdad on Friday and met with his Iraqi and Iranian counterparts. The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, and Russia are scheduled to meet in Doha on Saturday.
