Syria's Kurds should dig-in

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Syria’s Kurds should consolidate their hard-won gains against ISIS,

Why Syria s Kurds Should Dig In

 

[waltky]

Kurds and Arabs teaming up against ISIS...

Syria Kurds, Arabs Form Joint Military Force
Oct 12, 2015 - Syria's leading Kurdish militia and several Arab rebel groups that have fought alongside it have formalized their alliance in a new group called the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The formation of the alliance comes after Washington said it was abandoning a plan to train and equip rebels to fight the Islamic State group and could provide the US with a new partner in the battle against the jihadist group. The alliance was announced in a statement published online by a spokesman for the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). "The sensitive stage through which our country Syria is passing and the rapid developments on the military and political front... require a united national military force for all Syrians, including Kurds, Arabs and Syrians and all others," the statement said. The alliance includes several Syrian rebel groups that have backed the YPG in battles against IS, including the mostly-Arab Burkan al-Furat group. Groups representing Arab tribes and Syriac Christians are also listed as participating in the new force.

A fighter from the Kurdish People Protection Unit (YPG) guards a checkpoint in the Syrian town of Ain Issi​

Washington has already partnered with the YPG to battle IS in parts of northern Syria, with the US-led coalition providing Kurdish forces with air cover as they fought the jihadists on the ground. But the growing strength of the YPG has rattled neighbouring Turkey, which considers the group a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party. And the strong ties between Washington and Syria's Kurds have also caused resentment among other Syrian rebel groups who have lobbied for US air support and weapons. The YPG has had several successes in ousting IS from areas of northern Syria, backed by groups like Burkan al-Furat.

In January, they pushed IS out of the border town of Kobane after four months of fighting and heavy US-led airstrikes. And in June, they seized the key town of Tal Abyad from the jihadists, depriving them of a main transit point on the way to their de facto Syrian capital Raqa. Much of the Syrian opposition has regarded the Kurds with suspicion because of the careful line they have walked since the uprising began in March 2011. Despite years of repression by Damascus, they declined to take up arms against the regime and have instead focused on building autonomous governance in Kurdish-majority regions.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/...-arabs-form-joint-military-force.html[/quote][/CENTER]

 

[waltky]

Finally...

U.S. Has Started Sending Weapons to Syrian Kurds, Officials Say
May 30 2017 | WASHINGTON — Two US defense officials say that the American military has begun to provide equipment and weapons to the Kurdish elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces — a group it considers important in the fight against ISIS.

The U.S. began providing the equipment in the last 24 hours, according to one official. Neither would give any specifics about what the U.S. is sending the Syrian Democratic Forces — also known as "YPG" — or how those items are being delivered.

In the past, the U.S. military has said they will provide the Syrian Democratic Forces with ammunition, rifles, armor, radios, bulldozers, vehicles, and engineering equipment.

The Pentagon had previously said it believes the Syrian Democratic Force is an important part of the efforts to eventually go into Raqqa, a Syrian city that since 2014 has been under ISIS control. "The (Syrian Democratic Force), partnered with enabling support from U.S. and coalition forces, are the only force on the ground that can successfully seize Raqqa in the near future," chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White said earlier this month in a statement.

President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met earlier this month and discussed the administration's plans to arm Kurdish militias in Syria. The move concerns Ankara as Turkey views the militia as terrorists.

US Has Started Shipping Weapons to Syrian Kurdish Fighters, Officials Say | World Affairs Journal