A row over Syria's agreement to integrate Kurdish-led civilian and military institutions into the state has intensified after presidential adviser Mazloum Abdi accused unnamed parties of trying to derail the process.
Abdi's remarks drew a sharp response from local Arab media outlets, which portrayed them as part of an "escalation campaign" by former commanders of the disbanded Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to unravel existing agreements.
The Hasakah Media Center and Hasakah Observatory were among outlets that branded his comments "provocative."
Stoking Kurdish sentiment
Political researcher and Arab tribal elder Mudar Hammad al-Asaad accused some former SDF commanders of exploiting Kurdish sentiment to win over hardliners opposed to integration.
Al-Asaad told Asharq Al-Awsat that the commanders were making statements detached from reality and outside the terms of the agreement, particularly to appeal to the Kurdish Revolutionary Youth.
"Some leaders in Hasakah and Afrin remain affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and take orders from foreign parties," he said.
Al-Asaad said the Arab community supported integration and an end to divisions in Hasakah and Afrin, noting that most Afrin residents were Arab.
"No one wants the region to descend into tribal or ethnic conflict," he added.
Obstacles to integration
Mohammed Ibish, an official in the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), acknowledged that obstacles were inevitable but said his party remained committed to integration.
"Some see no benefit in completing the process, but our party is working to see it through and bring the autonomous administration's institutions into state structures," he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He said some parties failed to grasp the importance of integration and contributing to rebuilding the country, while certain regional players sought to keep Syria unstable.
The PYD recently warned at a general council meeting that some parties were seeking to obstruct integration, while rising hate speech and incitement threatened civil peace.
Afrin force fuels controversy
The dispute intensified after Abdi told Kurdish broadcaster Nuçe TV on Monday evening that a special force for Afrin was undergoing training and would soon formally begin operations.
He also said the Syrian government had agreed to accept the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) as two special counterterrorism forces in the Jazira and Kobani regions.
But how either arrangement would work remains unclear.
Asharq Al-Awsat sought clarification from Syria's Interior Ministry and the presidential team overseeing the agreement, particularly on the YPJ's integration, but received no response.
Al-Asaad said Abdi's remarks about the Afrin force appeared to reinforce a system of ethnic or sectarian quotas.
He said that military or security formations based on ethnic or sectarian identity were unacceptable because the agreement required volunteers from all communities to enlist individually, without discrimination.
