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Kurdistan President Offers Condolences Over Death of French Soldier in Iraq

President Nechirvan Barzani. (Presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq)
President Nechirvan Barzani. (Presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq)
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Kurdistan President Offers Condolences Over Death of French Soldier in Iraq

President Nechirvan Barzani. (Presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq)
President Nechirvan Barzani. (Presidency of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq)

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani extended on Saturday his condolences to the family of a French soldier who died in a car accident in Iraq.

“I offer my deepest condolences to his family, to President Emmanuel Macron, and to the people and government of France at this difficult time. May God Almighty bestow His mercy upon him and grant everyone comfort and patience. I wish his colleague who was injured in the same accident a speedy recovery.”

“The people of Kurdistan appreciate the support and assistance of the French military within the framework of the International Coalition Forces Against ISIS, who continue to provide support and assistance to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for the eradication of terrorism,” said Barzani.

Sergeant Baptiste Gauchot was killed in a road accident in Iraq, where he was “taking part in a training mission for the Iraqi armed forces,” Macron said on Friday.

Gauchot “was very seriously wounded when his vehicle went off the road,” France’s armed forces ministry said.

He received emergency surgery at Erbil hospital but died from his injuries, while a soldier he was with at the time is being treated in a Baghdad military hospital, it added.

In 2021, Macron stressed that “no matter what choices the Americans make, we will maintain our presence in Iraq to fight against terrorism.”

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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.