Kurds and Syrian Regime join forces to repel Turkish-backed rebels

An agreement has reportedly been reached that Kurdish forces will hand over defense of all territory west of Manbij currently under their control to the Syrian Army. The tweet below illustrates what the newly established boundaries will look like: 

This is HUGE! #Syrian army and #YPG agreed on a buffer zone west of #Manbij against #Turkish army and #FSA! pic.twitter.com/7s96uuJreT

— Ali Özkök (@A_Ozkok) March 2, 2017

The Kurds have been cozying up to Russia and the Regime in the recent months in order to combat the invasion of northern Syria by Turkish-backed opposition groups, but past agreements between the two sides have been traditionally more low-key and subtle. Not anymore!

Turkey has a history of oppressing its Kurdish population native to the southeastern regions of the country, and there is an ongoing military campaign against ‘Kurdish terrorists’ in the region. Turkish President Erdogan claims that the YPG, the military arm of the self-declared Kurdish state (Rojava) is a terrorist group with ties to the Kurdish extremist group that has committed terror attacks in Turkey, the PKK. He has used the connection between the two groups and the thin veil of fighting Daesh to justify the invasion of Syria.

Labeled as a terrorist organization in the West as well as Turkey, the PKK has surely committed terror attacks on Turkish citizens. On the other hand, the Kurds have undergone intense persecution from the Turkish government. Multiple locations in southeast Turkey are frequent targets of Turkish airstrikes, and some Kurdish towns have evenbeen under brutal siege.

The Kurds have led the fight against Daesh in both Syria and Iraq and hope that this will give them leverage to vie for a Kurdish State. Their military operations, backed by International Coalition air cover, have been a marked success in Syria.

LM

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