Kurds fight militants with aid of both U.S., Russia
BEIRUT — Syria’s main Kurdish forces declared Sunday that they have successfully cleared areas east of the Euphrates river of Islamic State militants, with help from the U.S.-led coalition and Russian forces.
The announcement came after U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said Washington will stop arming the YPG as offensive operations come to an end.
Noureddine Mahmoud, spokesman for the People’s Defense Units, known as the YPG and the backbone of the U.S.backed Syrian Democratic Forces, praised U.S. and Russian air and logistical support as well as ground operations coordination.
“We hope for an increase of the support and ensuring air protection and necessary cover,” Mahmoud said at a news conference in al-Salihiya, a town in Deir el-Zour province. The news conference was attended by a Russian general from the Russian base in Hmeimeem, in western Syria.
The SDF have been battling Islamic State fighters east of the Euphrates river in Deir el Zour province since September. In a separate campaign, Syrian government forces, backed by Russia and allied Iranianbacked militia, have been chasing militants on the other side of the river.
Russia and the U.S. kept in contact, in during “deconfliction” talks, to prevent clashes between the two forces. U.S. officials said communication was also maintained on the ground, including in meetings between SDF commanders and their counterparts on the government side.
Mahmoud also praised the role tribal leaders played in the fight in the oil-rich Deir el-Zour province, where tribesmen play an integral role in consolidating power there.
The extent of SDF cooperation with Russian forces and their Syrian allies, however, is not clear. The Kurdish-led forces now control nearly 25 percent of Syrian territories and important oil resources after their battlefield successes in northern and eastern Syria. But they are landlocked and economically dependent on areas controlled by the Syrian government, as well as on borders controlled either by Iraqi forces or the Syrian government.
Washington’s support for the SDF has come into question after the fall of the Islamic State hub of Raqqa and the near collapse of the militants in Syria. Turkey, which considers the dominant Kurdish group in the force an extension of its own insurgent group, has protested Washington’s reliance on the SDF, as well as the provision of heavy weaponry to its fighters.
Mattis said Friday that the U.S. will stop arming the Kurdish forces, turning to stabilization efforts and supporting the diplomatic process in Syria.