France’s Macron meets Syrian Kurds, vows to support in fight against Islamic State
French President Emmanuel Macron, Brussels, April 11, 2019. Photo: AP
PARIS,— French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hosted representatives of the Kurdish-led force that defeated Islamic State (IS) extremists in Syria, assuring them of France’s support in the fight against remaining jihadists.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had in late March flushed out IS from their last bastion in Syria but still warn the jihadists remain a threat in places.
The SDF is an umbrella force of Kurds and Arabs dominated by Kurds from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia of Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava). It is regarded with huge distrust by neighbouring Turkey which sees the YPG as a terror group.
Macron assured the SDF representatives, who were not named, of the “active support of France in the fight against Daesh which continues to be a menace for collective security,” the presidency said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Particularly important was the support in the “handling of terrorist fighters held as prisoners along with their families.”
European capitals are all keeping a careful eye on the IS prisoners held by the SDF after the defeat of the jihadists, given many are dual nationals.
Macron also vowed that financial support would be allocated to “respond to the humanitarian needs and the socio-economic stabilisation of civilian populations in Syria.”
The Kurdish-led SDF were the key ally of the West in defeating IS and waged the bulk of the fighting on the ground.
But they fear being abandoned by their patrons now IS is beaten, after US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of American forces from Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had in April announced one million euros ($1.1 million) in humanitarian aid for camps housing displaced people, notably Al-Hol which holds thousands of women and children who lived in IS-held areas.
France’s past contacts with the SDF’s Syrian Kurds have angered Turkey, which regards the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The PKK has waged a 35-year insurrection against the Turkish state.
Macron also made clear of the importance to Paris of “the security of Turkey and a de-escalation along the Syrian-Turkish border,” the presidency said.
U.S. has for years supported the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). But U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced the pullout from Syria.
The Kurdish PYD and its powerful military wing YPG/YPJ considered the most effective fighting force against IS. The YPG, which make up the backbone of the SDF forces, has seized swathes of Syria from Islamic State.
In 2013, the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party PYD — the political branch of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) — has established three autonomous Cantons of Jazeera, Kobani and Afrin and a Kurdish government across Syrian Kurdistan in 2013. On March 17, 2016, Kurdish authorities announced the creation of a “federal region” made up of those semi-autonomous regions in Syrian Kurdistan.
Copyright © 2019, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | AFP
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