ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Armed factions in Syria are reacting to a recent decision by the new leadership in Damascus to dissolve all armed groups.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they want to align with government forces while retaining their current organizational structure and hierarchy. "The SDF is keen on joining Syria’s defense system as a bloc,” an informed SDF source told Rudaw, but to “maintain its formations,” he added.
The source further explained that a force directly linked to Damascus “could be established from members of the SDF to serve as border guards.” The new force would include members of “the local populations of each region,” the source explained, indicating that such forces would not only be made up of Kurds.
It is important to note that Damascus-affiliated security forces have not clashed with the SDF. On the contrary, discussions are underway between the new Syrian leadership and the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) about the future of the Kurdish enclave and the potential inclusion of the SDF in Syria’s security forces.
Syria's Defense Minister, Murhaf Abu Qasra, stated on Sunday that "a military solution with the Kurds in northeastern Syria would lead to the bloodshed” of both Damascus-affiliated forces and the SDF. In an interview with the Washington Post, the minister said that the new Syrian leadership is keen on resolving tangled issues with Rojava “through diplomatic means."
Meanwhile, an informed source from the Free Syrian Army downplayed the importance of Damascus’s early February decision. “Nothing has changed for us,” the source told Rudaw, emphasizing that their “mission is to protect civilians in our regions or beyond.”
In Syria’s southern Druze-majority Suwayda province, armed and political groups have refused to disband their forces. Samir Azzam, the Coordinator of the Association of Secular Democratic Syrians, told Rudaw that the government in Damascus is a de facto one. He argues that it represents only one Sunni group, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is still classified as a terrorist organization.
Azzam ruled out any dealings with the current leadership in Damascus, adding that “the province will remain under the protection of [local] defense forces until the Syrian people reach a solution.” He argued that “the appropriate solution for the Syrian crisis is to establish a federal Syrian republic that gives rights to all Syrian components," he said.
Swathes of Syrian territories remain under the control of Druze, Kurdish-led forces and other armed groups. Many Syrians and foreign powers are concerned that HTS, which played a major role in ousting Bashar al-Assad in early December, may impose an Islamic rule in the country, threatening minority groups such as Alawites, Christians, Druze and Kurds.
Hussein Omar contributed to this article.
