Kurdistan Region prevents Kurdish infighting in northern Syria

Laying aside the Kurdish political rifts and exacerbating situation in northern Syria, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Friday reiterated its support for the Syrian Kurds.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Laying aside the Kurdish political rifts and exacerbating situation in northern Syria, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Friday reiterated its support for the Syrian Kurds.

“We [KRG] do our best to prevent Kurdish infighting in northern Syria,” the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani told Kurdish media in Davos, Switzerland.

He stressed he would not allow sending the Peshmerga of Rojava to Syria lest Kurdish infighting occured.

Additionally, during a World Economic Forum (WEF) panel on Friday, President Barzani reaffirmed his support for the Syrians.

“We would support whatever the Syrians decide or agree on in order to reach peace in the country,” he said.

“There are 300,000 Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan Region,” President Barzani added, hoping peace would establish in Syria so refugees could return home.

He also noted sectarian conflict was a reality in Syria and Iraq, and the difficult situation had to be considered to address the dispute.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani during an interview with two Kurdish journalists in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 19, 2017. (Photo: Kurdistan24)
Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani during an interview with two Kurdish journalists in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 19, 2017. (Photo: Kurdistan24)

Rojava Peshmerga makes up thousands of dissident Kurdish soldiers who fled the Syrian Army in the early days of the Syrian civil war to fight the Islamic State (IS) in the Kurdistan Region.

They have been fighting alongside Peshmerga forces since the beginning of IS’ emergence in 2014.

The KRG’s reason for keeping the Syrian Kurdish fighters in the Region was to avoid an armed conflict between them and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.  

The concerns for a potential clash was over tensions between the two main political blocks in Rojava: The Democratic Union Party (PYD), Rojava’s main ruling party, and its opposition, Syria’s Kurdish National Council (ENKS).

The disagreement between Rojava Peshmerga and the YPG appeared more political than military.

The YPG is the armed wing of the PYD while ENKS views itself the political umbrella of Rojava Peshmerga. 

As a result, President Barzani exerted strenuous efforts in mediating between the PYD and the ENKS.

The settlements were meant to reach a common formula to rule Rojava, but neither was applied due to many political rifts.

The first agreement was reached on June 11, 2012, in Erbil and was called the Hawler I Agreement.

The second one was made on Dec. 24, 2013, called the Hawler II Agreement.

The third was signed in Duhok on Oct. 22, 2014, called the Duhok Agreement.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany