{"id":137829,"date":"2024-12-16T23:27:58","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T16:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=137829"},"modified":"2024-12-16T23:27:58","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T16:27:58","slug":"syria-live-updates-al-assad-wanted-to-stay-and-fight-rebels-statement-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=137829","title":{"rendered":"Syria Live Updates: Al-Assad Wanted to Stay and Fight Rebels, Statement Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>The 13-year civil war between Syria\u2019s government and rebel fighters has ended. But the peril is not over for Syria\u2019s Kurdish minority.<\/p>\n<p>A number of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/10\/world\/middleeast\/syria-rebels-government-assad.html\" title=\"\">armed factions are still jostling for control<\/a> after the collapse of the Assad regime. They include the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which have allied with the United States to combat the extremist Islamic State, and the Syrian National Army, a militia backed by Turkey, which is hostile to the Kurdish forces.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">For more than a decade, the Kurdish-led soldiers have been America\u2019s most reliable <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/10\/10\/world\/middleeast\/turkey-syria-kurds-history-facts.html\" title=\"\">partner in Syria<\/a>, liberating cities seized by the extremist group and detaining around 9,000 of its fighters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">But Turkey, which shares a border with Syria, has long considered the Kurdish group to be its enemy. The Turkish government believes the Kurdish fighters in Syria are allied with the separatist Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party, or P.K.K., which has fought the Turkish state for decades.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">President <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/13\/world\/middleeast\/turkey-syria-rebels-erdogan.html\" title=\"\">Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> of Turkey, who backs the rebel groups that toppled the Assad regime, appears eager to seize the opportunity created by the momentous political shift in Syria to pursue his own agenda against the Kurdish fighters.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"live-blog-post-content css-19v2tje eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-50e3e4f7\">Turkey\u2019s new dominance leaves the Kurds exposed<\/h2>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">The shape of the new Syrian government, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is still being determined. But American officials and Middle East analysts agree: <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/13\/world\/middleeast\/turkey-syria-rebels-erdogan.html\" title=\"\">Turkey will have an outsized influence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">That means Kurdish groups\u2019 foothold in the northeast looks increasingly \u201ctenuous,\u201d said Wa\u2019el Alzayat, a Syria expert and former American diplomat. Turkey \u201cwill have the biggest leverage in what\u2019s happening, and will happen, in Syria for the foreseeable future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">As Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies seized control from President Bashar al-Assad, \u201cthey brought with them a tide of Turkish power and influence over the future of Syria,\u201d said Nicholas Heras, a senior analyst at the New Lines Institute.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">The high stakes for the Kurds, and for Western forces determined to prevent a renewed ISIS threat, were illuminated earlier this past week. Even as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies took over, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/08\/world\/middleeast\/syria-turkey-kurds.html\" title=\"\">Turkish-backed rebels attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces<\/a>, supported by Turkish airstrikes and artillery fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Gen. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/11\/world\/middleeast\/syria-isis-united-states-kurds.html\" title=\"\">Mazloum Abdi, told The New York Times<\/a> he had to divert fighters who were defending the prisons that house accused ISIS members to fight off the Turkish-backed militants.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-medium css-d754w4 e1g7ppur0\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\"><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\" class=\"css-gbc9ki ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">A destroyed truck after a Turkish airstrike near Qamishli earlier this month.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Ahmed Mardnli\/EPA, via Shutterstock<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">Now, Mr. Heras predicted, Arabs who had joined the Syrian Democratic Forces to fight the Islamic State could disband or defect to other rebel groups, under pressure from Turkey and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. That would further weaken the Kurdish forces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">A best-case scenario for the Kurds, officials and experts said, might see them receive enough support from the United States to secure the territory they hold in northeast Syria. That could give them leverage with the new government in Damascus to pursue a fully autonomous state, something minority Kurds in Syria have long sought.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">At worst, the Kurds could face an inflamed conflict with Turkish-backed fighters, be forced to cede control of at least some of their oil-rich territory and, if President-elect Donald J. Trump decides to withdraw U.S. troops, lose vital help on the ground.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"live-blog-post-content css-19v2tje eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-4af8f4e4\">America\u2019s role will be pivotal<\/h2>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere really needs to be some kind of cease-fire\/peace agreement between the Turks and the Kurds that both sides can agree with,\u201d said Natasha Hall, a Syria expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">The Biden administration is racing to negotiate just that before it leaves office next month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">Following meetings in Turkey last week, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Saturday that \u201cmaking sure that ISIS was in a box\u201d remained an urgent priority in Syria. He said the Kurdish fighters were \u201cplaying a critical role in pursuing that mission.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">But the diplomatic balancing act he faced was clear: His meetings in Turkey included talks with the foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, who earlier last week said that \u201cany P.K.K. extension in Syria cannot be considered a legitimate partner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">And on Friday, Mr. Fidan pointedly cited the P.K.K. as he described efforts to keep terrorist organizations from exploiting the political chaos in Syria.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-medium css-d754w4 e1g7ppur0\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\"><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\" class=\"css-gbc9ki ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Kurdish-led fighters backed by the U.S. at a checkpoint in Syria in 2022.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Baderkhan Ahmad\/Associated Press<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">Yet there are signs that American diplomacy is having an impact. Last week, an American commander, Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CENTCOM\/status\/1866558899144519822?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">visited northeast Syria<\/a>, where 900 American troops are stationed. Hours later, a cease-fire between the Kurdish forces and a Turkish-backed rebel group known as the Syrian National Army was announced in the northern city of Manbij, where the two sides have frequently clashed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">General Abdi, the Kurdish commander, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MazloumAbdi\/status\/1866615394238116008\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said on X<\/a> that the cease-fire was brokered with American help. Under the agreement, he said, Kurdish forces would withdraw from Manbij, a majority Arab city which they seized from the Islamic State in 2016 but that has <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/10\/13\/world\/middleeast\/syria-turkey-invasion-isis.html\" title=\"\">since become a flashpoint<\/a> among battling factions for control. But he and other Syrian ethnic Kurds are increasingly worried that their retreat from Manbij is just the beginning.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"live-blog-post-content css-19v2tje eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-1ef2d3a3\">The city of Kobani could be the next flashpoint<\/h2>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">Last Tuesday, a senior Hayat Tahrir al-Sham officer said that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/aleamaliaat_aleaskaria\/330\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">local tribes allied with his group<\/a> had wrested control of the eastern city of Deir al-Zour from Kurdish fighters who had taken over as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-backed-syrian-kurds-seize-eastern-city-deir-el-zor-sources-say-2024-12-06\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. al-Assad\u2019s forces collapsed<\/a> just days earlier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">And in the days since, the Turkish-backed rebels have repeatedly battled with Kurdish forces in the region around the Euphrates River.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">Mr. Heras, the New Lines analyst, said he thought those skirmishes could be military preparations for an invasion of Kobani, a majority Kurdish city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">The city, just south of the Turkish border, holds deep emotional significance for the Kurdish forces, who fought with American troops to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/01\/27\/world\/middleeast\/kurds-isis-syria-kobani.html\" title=\"\">reclaim it<\/a> after a four-month Islamic State siege that began in late 2015.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">General Abdi now appears to be <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mutludc\/status\/1866579808131379395\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">bracing for a possible invasion<\/a> by Turkey\u2019s allied fighters. Mr. Heras said residents were fleeing Kobani by the thousands despite a shaky truce agreement this past week that aimed to buy time for negotiations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">\u201cTurkey is taking advantage of the crisis in Syria to destabilize the region and seize our land, while claiming they are fighting terrorists,\u201d said Sinam Sherkany Mohamad, the head of the Kurdish fighters\u2019 political wing in Washington, in a statement. \u201cBut we are not terrorists, we are democratic U.S. allies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">James F. Jeffrey, a former American ambassador to Turkey who was a chief Syria envoy during Mr. Trump\u2019s first administration, said any invasion of Kobani would violate a 2019 agreement that the U.S. negotiated for a d\u00e9tente, \u201cand whether by the Turks, or Syrian forces associated with the Turks, it makes no difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-medium css-d754w4 e1g7ppur0\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\"><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\" class=\"css-gbc9ki ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">Kobani in 2019. The town holds deep emotional significance for the Kurdish forces which fought to reclaim it after an Islamic State siege.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Ivor Prickett for The New York Times<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">In the meantime, General Abdi has sought to shore up the Kurdish fighters\u2019 relationship with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, saying <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/119592\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">he is seeking direct relations<\/a> with the group\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">Officials and experts said Turkey may wait until its interests are locked in with the new Syrian government before deciding whether to launch a full-bore military offensive against the Kurdish forces. It may also watch to see whether Mr. Trump withdraws American troops, and how his administration deals with Mr. Erdogan, a like-minded strongman whose relationship with the United States has <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/12\/09\/us\/politics\/us-turkey-trump-erdogan.html\" title=\"\">often been tempestuous<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-h61jh5 evys1bk0\">Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, warned in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LindseyGrahamSC\/status\/1865938078101320167\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> on social media that he was prepared to push for economic sanctions against Turkey if it attacked the Kurdish forces, which he said would \u201cset in motion an ISIS jailbreak.\u201d He added: \u201cIf Turkey takes military action against Kurdish forces in Syria, it will jeopardize America\u2019s interests dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"live-blog-post-content css-1smqmx3 etfikam0\">Safak Timur<!-- --> contributed reporting from Istanbul.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/12\/16\/world\/syria-assad-rebels-news\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 13-year civil war between Syria\u2019s government and rebel fighters has ended. But the peril is not over for Syria\u2019s Kurdish minority. A number of armed factions are still jostling &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=137829\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=137829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=137829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=137829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=137829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}