SDF official calls on Russia to stop Turkish violations near Ain Issa, rejects handover to Damascus
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesperson on Sunday rejected claims that the SDF had handed over the strategic town of Ain Issa to Syrian government forces.
“There are no changes to the control of Ain Issa. We are committed to previous agreements, and there are no new understandings. If there are to be new deals, they will be officially announced,” SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday.
“Our communications with the Russian forces in the area are in place, especially concerning Ain Issa and other violations in the region,” he said.
Earlier reports claimed that Russia had demanded the SDF handover Ain Issa to the Syrian regime to fend off a potential Turkish attack. But the SDF official denied the allegations.
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“The communications are focused on stopping the attacks by the armed groups, and we are awaiting a transparent and practical response from the Russian side to stop the violations committed by the Turkish-backed armed groups.”
Last week, the Russians, the SDF, and the Syrian government also reached an agreement to create three (Russian) observation points to prevent further Turkish attacks. But fighting near Ain Issa has continued in the last few days.
Read More: SDF, Russia reach deal to prevent further Turkish attacks in Ain Issa
Gabriel confirmed that there is “an agreement between the SDF and Russia-Syria concerning the observation points in north of Ain Issa.”
After Turkey conducted a cross-border attack into northeastern Syria in October 2019, Russia and the US reached separate ceasefire deals with Ankara, which allowed Turkish troops to control the area between Tal Abyad and Serekaniye.
Although US President Donald Trump initially decided last year to withdraw US forces from northeast Syria following a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he was later convinced to keep troops in the northeast to prevent the oil fields from falling into the hands of Iran or the so-called Islamic State.
As a result, there are still US troops in the Hasakah and Deir al-Zor regions, which contain the majority of Syria’s oil reserves, even as the US withdrew from bases surrounding Kobani, Manbij, and Raqqa, which were later taken over by the Russian military.
Despite the agreements, Turkish-backed groups and the Turkish army itself continue to target SDF-held areas periodically. In some cases, villagers living in Syrian-Turkish border areas have been killed in attacks by the Turkish military and the rebel forces it supports.
“With regards to Ain Issa, there is a calm situation as of yesterday and today. However, there are sporadic clashes between us [SDF] and the [Turkish-backed] militants,” Gabriel said.
“The situation is not [as tense] as the past week; then there was heavy fighting near Ain Issa – and the Turkish-backed armed groups were bombarding the center and surroundings of Ain Issa with heavy artillery.”
Gabriel explained further that Turkey’s threats against the Ain Issa area and other parts of North and East Syria (NES) have continued since October 2019.
“Turkey’s plan, using armed groups, is to expand its areas of occupation in Syria and control more lands. I believe that Turkey, at this moment, is not able to realize that objective. There are previous [ceasefire] agreements about these regions, and it is unlikely that Turkey will gain anything new.”
“The SDF has been responding to these attacks, and has repelled the attempts of the armed groups for advancing in the villages on the M4 highway.”
The SDF official also called on Russia to adhere to the “agreements so that the violations would stop. We expect Russia to react practically in the face of the attacks by Turkey and Turkish-backed groups against Ain Issa.”
Gabriel also said they continue their cooperation with the US-led Coalition against the Islamic State and report ceasefire violations to the US-led Coalition.
“We also communicate with respect to the violations committed by Turkey and Turkish-backed armed militants near Ain Issa and other occupied areas. [The attack against Ain Issa] is clear breach of the ceasefire deal [between SDF and Turkey] to which US/Coalition is a party.”
However, he said in Ain Issa, the Russians are responsible. “We are asking the Russian forces [to intervene] since Russia has its forces on the ground there, and Russia is part of the ceasefire agreements.”
Gabriel also called on the international community to “pressure” Turkey to stop its ceasefire violations and hold it to account.
(Additional reporting by Cemal Batun)
Editing by Khrush Najari