ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Mazloum Abdi, chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announced on Thursday that they have reached agreements with the new authority in Damascus, adding that they are working on sending a delegation to the capital.
“At the outset of the incident, HTS informed us that our territories are not their target,” he said during an interview with the SDF-affiliated Ronahi TV aired on Thursday, referring to the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - a jihadist group which recently led a coalition of rebel groups and successfully toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The new authority has avoided clashes with the US-backed SDF so far.
“We have agreements with HTS regarding Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor,” Abdi said.
When the HTS took over Aleppo city, they allowed the SDF to maintain its control of Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, mainly Sheikh Maqsood.
When the former regime’s army withdrew from parts of Deir ez-Zor to support Assad in other parts of the country, the SDF replaced them, saying the deployment was aimed at preventing the Islamic State (ISIS) from exploiting the security vacuum.
The SDF remains in control of parts of the oil-rich province.
“Efforts are underway to send a delegation to Damascus for some negotiations,” revealed Abdi.
The Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) decided on Thursday to raise the new flag of the country, previously used by the opposition, across its institutions.
The flag, featuring three red stars and the colors green, white, and black, has been used by various opposition groups fighting against Assad’s oppressive regime.
Referring to it as “the flag of independence,” Abdi said the flag is "suitable" for them "because this is not the flag of the Syrian Arab Republic but the flag of the Syrian Republic, which represents all components."
