US armored vehicles are seen in Qamishli, Syria on Thursday. (Reuters)
Feb 10, 2024. Posted by Balkan
Periscope - Hellas
The US
provided guarantees to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Türkiye would
not use the F-16 aircraft, which Washington had agreed to sell to Ankara,
against its forces, revealed SDF commander Mazloum Abdi.
Abdi held a press conference at the office of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in Washington with US and Arab media. It was his first meeting with the press since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on Oct. 7.
Abdi
explained that the pace of Turkish attacks and targets had increased recently
to include infrastructure and basic facilities in northeastern Syria, not just
SDF combat centers and positions.
He added
that these attacks cost the SDF half of their annual budget.
Assurances
In response
to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdi confirmed that he had received firm
assurances from officials in Washington that the withdrawal of US forces from
Syria was not on the table.
He also
denied that he had received advice from Washington to open communication
channels with the Syrian regime to ensure protection for his forces if US
troops are withdrawn.
Moreover,
he deemed the regime’s failure to condemn the Turkish attack as a demonstration
“of the relationship we have with the regime.” He stressed that there are no
communications with Damascus and “no one has advised us to contact it.”
Iraq and
Syria
Baghdad and
Washington recently kicked off talks on the withdrawal of American forces from
Iraq. Abdi said there were no fears that the discussions would impact US forces
deployed in Syria.
The US is
the one who ultimately decides the nature and future of its presence in Iraq,
he added, noting that the nature of the deployment of the international forces
in Syria was different than that of the Americans in Iraq.
He warned
that the withdrawal of US forces from Syria would lead to chaos in the region,
especially since ISIS terrorists are still active in the area.
He also
added that the SDF was coming under pressure, which was affecting its ability
to guard prisons holding ISIS detainees, not ruling out the possibility of
future jailbreaks as had happened in the past.
Response to
Iranian militias
Abdi
acknowledged that the war on Gaza has created challenges to the SDF in its
fight against ISIS.
He warned
that Türkiye, Iran and the Damascus regime were exploiting the unrest.
In
addition, he said that along with attacks from Türkiye, the SDF now has to
contend with attacks by Iranian militias. These militias don’t differentiate
between the SDF and coalition forces, he remarked, revealing that his forces
were weighing their response to them.
Media leaks
The press
conference was attended by former US Congressman and House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Ed Royce, head of the SDC office in Washington Sinam
Mohammad, and SDC communications officer Bassam Saqr.
Royce
revealed that the media leaks about the withdrawal of the forces from Syria
came from the extreme right-wing members of Congress.
He told
Asharq Al-Awsat that hard-right Republican Matthew Gates had been vocal about
the withdrawal and his comments were widely circulated in the media.
Royce
assured that an overwhelming majority in the Senate was against the pullout.
The Biden
administration is not thinking about this, especially in this election year,
asserted Royce, adding that it would not take such a step amid the escalation
from Iran and its militias in the region.
Asharq al Awsat
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