Small Wars Journal

Syria's Kurds: Turn to Damascus or Concede to Turkey?

Thu, 10/10/2019 - 3:22pm

Syria's Kurds: Turn to Damascus or Concede to Turkey? By Sarah El Deeb – Associated Press

Syria's most powerful Kurdish group is grappling for friends after its ally, the United States, abandoned it to an invasion by Turkey, whose warplanes, tanks and artillery are raining shells onto its stronghold in the north of the country.

The Kurdish fighters have few options. They could turn to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its allies Russia and Iran for support, but that would mean giving up the autonomy they built up in the north over nearly 30 percent of Syria. So far, the Kurds' feelers to Damascus have been fruitless.

Otherwise, the 60,000-fighter force, which was the core ground force in the US-backed campaign against Islamic State militants, may have to fight to its last soldier. In the war with IS, it lost 11,000 fighters…

Read on.