Us-backed forces hammer out political deal with Assad

THE Us-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is holding talks with the government in Damascus for the first time on the future of huge swathes of northern Syria under their control.

The Kurdish-dominated SDF, founded with the help of the US to fight Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), is looking to negotiate a political deal to preserve their autonomy.

“We are working towards a settlement for northern Syria,” said Riad Darar, the Arab co-chairman of the Syrian Democratic Council, the SDF’S political wing.

“We hope that the discussions on the situation in the north will be positive,” Mr Darar said, adding that they were being held “without preconditions”.

The SDF now controls 27 per cent of the country, according to the Uk-based monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, having seized Raqqa and much of the eastern province of Deir Ezzor from Isil militants with the help of US air power.

The Kurds have used the cover of the Syrian war to carve out a semi-autonomous enclave in the northeast of the country, which they call “Rojava”.

Before the conflict, Kurds faced state persecution for years, and were banned from speaking their own language in schools and mosques.

And while they say they are seeking a political deal that will safeguard their autonomy, not full independence, Damascus views Kurdish aspirations with suspicion.

Earlier this year, Bashar al-assad, the president of Syria, threatened to resort to force if necessary to prevent Sdfheld areas breaking away.

He has repeatedly said that he intends to reclaim “every inch” of Syria. The Syrian Kurds have grown wary of the US, which has sent mixed messages of its intended future support.

Donald Trump, the US president, has said he wants to bring home US troops in Syria supporting the SDF once the fight against Isil is wrapped up.

Washington also opposed an independence bid by Kurds in neighbouring Iraq.

Any deal agreed between the Kurds and the regime will therefore raise fresh questions for US policy in Syria.