SDC Co-Chair to Asharq Al-Awsat: National Syrian Coalition Ignored Calls for Dialogue

Riad Darar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Riad Darar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council.
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SDC Co-Chair to Asharq Al-Awsat: National Syrian Coalition Ignored Calls for Dialogue

Riad Darar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council.
Riad Darar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council.

The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces ignored calls by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) to work jointly to tackle the Constitutional Committee and the UN-sponsored negotiations, said SDC co-chair Riad Darar.

The SDC is the political arm of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which was formed in October 2015 and includes Kurdish, Arab and Christian forces and parties.

Darar told Asharq Al-Awsat that the council sent several official invitations to the National Syrian Coalition (NSC) to attend and participate in the internal Syrian conferences held in 2020 to activate the inter-Syrian dialogue.

“We sent similar invitations for the activities and meetings we held in western capitals, but they ignored them, prompting the SDC to resort to other opposition platforms, such as Moscow, Cairo and the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change,” he explained.

This led to dialogue, understandings and signed agreements with the head of the People’s Will Party and Moscow platform Qadri Jamil in 2020, he revealed.

Darar urged the rest of the opposition forces to prioritize the Syrian people’s interests, work jointly for their country’s future and draft a national constitution that fulfills their aspirations.

Moreover, he said the Astana process has obstructed the efforts of the UN-sponsored Constitutional Committee, noting that the committee was a product of this process.

“Therefore, the process proved to be a failure in its origin, outcomes and course.”

Furthermore, Darar said the Constitutional Committee offers the regime more time to hold presidential elections that would prolong its stay in power and renew the term of president Bashar Assad “so that he can continue to constantly threaten the Syrian people and wage efforts to end their revolt.”

He accused the Astana process - comprised of Russia, Turkey and Iran - of steering the Syrian revolution off its course and attempt to force the opposition to support the regime’s agendas.

“The Astana process succeeded in portraying political work as being subject to the force of arms. It is more akin to terrorism than a project to defend the legitimate rights of the Syrian people,” he remarked.

The senior official further affirmed that the Russian mediation to de-escalate tension between forces loyal to Assad and the Kurdish Autonomous Administration’s internal security forces did not achieve any breakthrough since Moscow is biased towards the regime.

He pointed out that Kurds have not yielded to Russian pressure, accusing the regime and Moscow of seeking to change the region’s geographic features through military force by taking advantage of the transition of power in the United States as Joe Biden assumes the presidency.

This means that Moscow will manipulate the desired political solution in its favor, he warned.

Moscow wants to control Syria and make it a starting point for its re-intervention in the Mediterranean, Darar stressed, recalling that “it has done so in Libya and is doing so in Syria in agreement with Turkey in order to re-impose and reproduce the regime.”

Separately, Darar underscored the US role in northeastern Syria, stating that it aims to confront Iranian influence there.

“These regions are therefore, important to the Americans and relations will continue with them until changes are achieved on the ground that will be the foundation for the solution and reaching understandings between the Syrians,” he added.

He said that the Biden administration will witness a rebalancing of these policies. “When the period of achievement is reached, then we will witness real and effective intervention. This requires meeting some demands beyond Syria’s borders, starting with the position towards Iran,” he explained.

Darar also accused members of the Astana process of working against American presence in Syria, saying they continue to oppose it, forcing the opposition to take its side and become hostage to its orders and actions.



Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
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Yemeni Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Have Lost Nearly 30% of their Military Capabilities

This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)
This handout photo released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) shows a US F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter jet taking off from the US Navy's Nimitz-class USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Hunter DAY / DVIDS / AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthis are in disarray over escalating American strikes targeting military and security sites, as well as weapons depots belonging to them, Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said, revealing that the group has lost nearly 30% of its military capabilities.

Al-Eryani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the recent strikes have directly hit "the military capabilities of the Houthi group, targeting mainly infrastructure related to ballistic missiles and drones, which were used to threaten international maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden."

US President Donald Trump had ordered the start of the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15, pledging to destroy their capabilities.

In the past four weeks, the Houthis have been hit by 365 air and naval strikes, field reports said. The campaign has been primarily targeting fortified bunkers and military warehouses, especially in the group's strongholds in the governorates of Saada, Sanaa, Amran, and Hodeidah.

"Our assessment, based on our field sources, is that the militia has lost 30% of its capabilities, and this number is rising as military operations continue,” Al-Eryani said.

The minister also spoke of "surprises” that will please Yemenis in the coming weeks.

Trump said Monday that the US campaign against the Houthis has been “very successful militarily.”

“We’ve really damaged them,” he said, adding that “we’ve gotten many of their leaders and their experts.”

The Yemeni Minister of Information considered the powerful strikes “as not enough to end the Houthi threat, especially since the militia is still receiving logistical support from Iran through multiple smuggling routes."

Last week, Britain’s The Telegraph quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Iran had ordered military personnel to leave Yemen to avoid direct confrontation with the US.

Al-Eryani called for “keeping military, political, and economic pressure” on the Houthis and increasing control on the sources that provide arms to the Houthis. He also called for “supporting the legitimate forces to enable them to take control of all Yemeni territory."
Al-Eryani confirmed that the Houthis have recently suffered significant human losses at various leadership levels, yet the militias have avoided announcing such losses for fear of undermining the morale of their fighters.

Last month, Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the country’s armed forces and all military formations were at a high state of readiness to respond firmly to any Houthi attacks or provocations.

Al-Daeri said the Houthis bear full responsibility for the recent escalation, the imposition of international sanctions, and the militarization of regional waters, which have worsened the humanitarian and economic situation for Yemenis.