Leaders of two previously rival Kurdish groups met in northern Iraq, aiming to unify their stance in the wake of the Syrian government's fall and amid escalating tensions with Turkey-backed forces. The meeting, seen as significant for Kurdish unity, focused on aligning their positions within Syria and distancing themselves from the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group considered a terrorist organization by Turkey.
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Hoshyar Zebari, a senior Kurdistan Democratic Party official, described the meeting between KDP leader Masoud Barzani and Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as a “significant achievement to strengthen Kurdish unity and position” during Syria’s transitional phase.
The Kurdish-led SDF, which have controlled northeast Syria for the past decade, is under attack from the Syrian National Army, an umbrella of militias fighting on behalf of Turkey, which regards the SDF as an extension of the PKK. In the security vacuum of Syria’s new leaders trying to form a new national army following the fall of Assad, there are concerns about a resurgence of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Kurdish forces have played a key role in the fight against the militant group in both countries.
Kurdish Groups Syria Turkey PKK Reconciliation
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