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US Trains 30,000 SDF Members East Syria to 'Contain' Iran

Kurdish fighters guard a checkpoint near the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border, during clashes with jihadist militants in October 2013 (AFP Photo/Fabio Bucciarelli)
Kurdish fighters guard a checkpoint near the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border, during clashes with jihadist militants in October 2013 (AFP Photo/Fabio Bucciarelli)
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US Trains 30,000 SDF Members East Syria to 'Contain' Iran

Kurdish fighters guard a checkpoint near the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border, during clashes with jihadist militants in October 2013 (AFP Photo/Fabio Bucciarelli)
Kurdish fighters guard a checkpoint near the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border, during clashes with jihadist militants in October 2013 (AFP Photo/Fabio Bucciarelli)

The US Army started on Saturday to build five observation posts at the border with Turkey, as part of Washington’s procedures to enhance its military and diplomatic presence northeast Syria.

The posts came as part of a one-year memorandum signed to train 30,000 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to combat “ISIS cells” and to contain Iran.

“The US Army started yesterday establishing three posts in Tal Abyad and two others in Ain al-Arab (Kobani) at the border with Turkey to protect the back of its Syrian ally forces against ISIS,” a leader from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday.

The five observation posts, which would be followed by others in Ras al-Ain, Amouda and Derbassiyah at the Turkish borders, come as part of military and diplomatic steps to implement a US strategy in Syria set to achieve three objectives: Fight ISIS and prevent it from reemerging, remove Iran from Syria, and push forward towards a Syrian political solution.

The YPG official uncovered the presence of a memorandum of understanding signed between the SDF and the US-led Coalition including a one-year plan to combat ISIS and its dormant cells and to train 30,000 fighters, in addition to the existing 60,000 combatants, already fighting the terrorist group.

The official added that the memorandum could be extended at the end of 2019.

For his part, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday that his country was uneasy about US plans to set up “observation posts” in Syria along parts of its border with Turkey.

Akar said he told US Chief of Staff Joseph Dunford and other US officials during a recent visit to Canada that setting up the posts would have a very negative impact on perceptions of the United States in Turkey.

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Kurdistan Offers to Deliver Oil, Calls for End to ‘Collective Punishment’

Barzani during the inauguration of the emergency water supply project in Erbil (KRG Prime Minister’s Office)
Barzani during the inauguration of the emergency water supply project in Erbil (KRG Prime Minister’s Office)
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Kurdistan Offers to Deliver Oil, Calls for End to ‘Collective Punishment’

Barzani during the inauguration of the emergency water supply project in Erbil (KRG Prime Minister’s Office)
Barzani during the inauguration of the emergency water supply project in Erbil (KRG Prime Minister’s Office)

Despite weeks of intensive negotiations and multiple official visits between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, a final resolution to the long-standing oil and budget disputes remains elusive.

As a result, hundreds of thousands of public sector workers in Kurdistan have gone unpaid for over 75 days, deepening an already severe economic crisis.

While the Iraqi federal government announced last week that an agreement to resume oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan was near, and both sides reportedly reached a “near-final” deal, tangible progress has stalled.

Reuters reported Friday that a restart of Kurdish oil exports is not imminent, citing both ongoing disputes and drone attacks on oilfields in the region that have slashed production by half.

Nevertheless, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani reiterated Sunday his administration’s readiness to hand over oil to Baghdad on one condition: that the federal government guarantees the region’s share of the national budget and secures public salaries.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new emergency water project in Erbil, Barzani demanded an end to what he described as “collective punishment” of the Kurdish people.

Addressing public criticism over local revenue use, Barzani said: “We don’t respond to irresponsible claims meant to mislead public opinion. Our projects are the real answer.”

Barzani also pushed back against Kurdish voices advocating for Baghdad to directly distribute salaries, asserting the region’s constitutional right to manage its own budget.

“We are a federal entity. Kurdistan must have its own budget, and how it is spent should be decided by its institutions and people,” he said.

Tensions have grown in recent months as some Kurdish civil servants traveled to Baghdad, demanding the federal government bypass the KRG and pay salaries directly, a move Erbil firmly rejects.

Barzani expressed frustration with Baghdad’s withdrawal from earlier agreements, despite Erbil agreeing to hand over 230,000 barrels of oil per day to the federal SOMO company, as well as 120 billion dinars in monthly revenue. He warned that recent drone strikes on oil infrastructure could impact output but should not be used as an excuse to delay payments.

The federal government counters that the KRG has failed to meet its oil transfer obligations and exceeded its allocated share of the national budget. In May, Iraq’s Finance Ministry formally warned that funding would cease, citing overpayments that exceeded Kurdistan’s legal 12.67% share.