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.



Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday said that young Syrians will resist the new government emerging after the overthrow of President Bashar sl-Assad as he again accused the United States and Israel of sowing chaos in the country.

Iran had provided crucial support to Assad throughout Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, which erupted after he launched a violent crackdown on a popular uprising against his family's decades-long rule. Syria had long served as a key conduit for Iranian aid to Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an address on Sunday that the “young Syrian has nothing to lose" and suffers from insecurity following Assad's fall.

“What can he do? He should stand with strong will against those who designed and those who implemented the insecurity," Khamenei said. “God willing, he will overcome them.”

He accused the United States and Israel of plotting against Assad's government in order to seize resources, saying: “Now they feel victory, the Americans, the Zionist regime and those who accompanied them.”

Iran and its armed proxies in the region have suffered a series of major setbacks over the past year, with Israel battering Hamas in Gaza and landing heavy blows on Hezbollah before they agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon last month.

Khamenei denied that such groups were proxies of Iran, saying they fought because of their own beliefs and that Tehran did not depend on them. “If one day we plan to take action, we do not need proxy force,” he said.