SDC Demands Damascus Recognizes the Autonomous Administration of North, East Syria

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seen in Deir al-Zor, Syria May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said
Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seen in Deir al-Zor, Syria May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said
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SDC Demands Damascus Recognizes the Autonomous Administration of North, East Syria

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seen in Deir al-Zor, Syria May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said
Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are seen in Deir al-Zor, Syria May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said

The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), the political arm of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), held Damascus liable for its failures and demanded moving towards decentralization of power as step towards sustainable peace.

The SDC’s statements follow accusations by the Syrian foreign ministry on it, alongside the US, looking to divide Syria.

Syria’s foreign ministry labeled the SDF as “separatist terrorist militias” in a letter to United Nations Secretary-General.

The letter accuses the SDF of operating in line with “schemes” by the US and Israel and says the Syrian government will “liberate” territories captured by the militias, state news agency SANA reported.

According to SANA, the letter claims the SDF has moved on from taking part in “committing crimes of the “International Coalition” against the Syrian people,” accusing the SDF of now “kidnapping, torturing, killing and displacing civilians.”

SDC co-chair Ilham Ahmed, in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, voiced total rejection to the accusations made and said they were aimed at pleasing Turkey for the sake of re-normalizing ties.

The SDC, according to Ahmed, was unrelenting in its invites to reboot talks with Damascus.

“We have consistently indicated through our statements, and we have repeatedly called on the Syrian government to begin engaging in a comprehensive political process to resolve the Syrian crisis, recognize the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria,” the co-chair said.

Targeting the accusations facing the SDF, Ahmed said: “This approach will not serve the political solution and the peace process—threatening with wars and battles to impose control over the entirety of Syrian territory only prolongs the conflict.”

Representatives of the SDC held joint talks back in mid-2017 with security officials from the Syrian regime. The talks followed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's threats of violence to the SDF.

Nevertheless, those talks ended in deadlock with no significant progress achieved.



RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
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RSF Shelling On Camp Kills 8 in Sudan's Darfur, Say Rescuers

A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig
A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday, killing eight civilians and injuring others, a local rescue group said.

The bombardment hit Abu Shouk camp, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people on the outskirts of El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur.

El-Fasher remains the last major stronghold in Sudan's western Darfur region not under the control of the RSF, who have been at war with the regular army since April 2023, AFP reported.

"The Abu Shouk camp witnessed heavy artillery bombardment by the RSF... killing eight people," the camp's Emergency Response Room said in a statement.

In recent weeks, El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since last year, has been locked in intense fighting between warring sides in a region also gripped by famine.

Thursday's offensive comes just days after a series of attacks by the RSF targeted another battleground region of Sudan.

More than 450 people, including 35 children, were killed in several villages of North Kordofan, southwest of the capital Khartoum, according to a statement released this week by the UN's children agency.

"No child should ever experience such horrors," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Violence against children is unconscionable and must end now."

On Sunday, the RSF claimed to have killed more than 470 army personnel near the town of El-Obeid, also in North Kordofan, in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.

Independent verification of casualties in Sudan remains difficult due to restricted access to its conflict zones.

Now in its third year, the conflict has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee, creating what the United Nations describes as the world's largest displacement crisis.

In December last year, famine was officially declared in three displacement camps near El-Fasher, namely Zamzam, Abu Shouk and Al-Salam, according to the UN.

Since the Sudanese army regained control of the capital Khartoum in March, the RSF has shifted its operations westward, focusing on Darfur and Kordofan in a bid to consolidate territorial gains.

In April, RSF fighters seized the Zamzam displacement camp, located near Abu Shouk.

The assault forced nearly 400,000 people to flee, according to UN figures, effectively emptying one of the country's largest camps for the displaced.

Sudanese analyst Mohaned el-Nour told AFP the RSF aims to redefine its role in the conflict.

"Their goal is no longer to be seen as a militia, but as an alternative government in western Sudan, undermining the legitimacy of the authorities in Port Sudan."

He added that the recent surge in violence in North Kordofan was likely intended to divert the army's attention from El Fasher, where the military is trying "at all costs" to maintain.