MESOP NEWS : TRUMP DEALS WITH SYRIAN KURDS (BUT NOT WITH PYD/PKK)

US Will Use Roj Peshmerga to Protect Safe Zones in Syria: ENKS Official / Trump administration is expected to establish safe zones in northern Syria

Basnews English  31 January 2017 – ERBIL — The US President Donald Trump said last week that he would “absolutely do safe zones in Syria” to stop the flow of Syrian refugees into other countries. According to sources, Trump will use the Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga called Roj Peshmerga to protect the safe zone. Roj Peshmerga consists of Syrian Kurdish fighters trained by the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga ministry and equipped by the US. However, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the ruling party in the Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) has been preventing the Roj Peshmerga troops from returning to their homeland to fight against the Islamic State (IS) along with other local forces.

A delegation from the Syrian Kurdish National Council (ENKS) is expected to visit Washington in February to discuss the return of Roj Peshmerga to Rojava and the safe zone in Syria with Trump administration, Kawa Azizi, ENKS representative in Kurdistan Region told BasNews.

ENKS is composed of a number of Syrian Kurdish political parties which are seen by PYD as rivals for having different political orientation from that of PYD.  Azizi said the US is providing military training to 10,000 Roj Peshmerga troops in the Kurdistan Region. The troops will be sent back to Rojava in the near future and will be tasked with protecting the safe zones the US will establish in Syria, he said. He argued the safe zones are in favour of Kurds in Syria as the move will help weaken the Syrian regime, especially if it includes the entire Kurdish region.

The ENKS official said according to their knowledge the safe zones will include Azaz, Jarablus and Çobanbey areas northern Syria near Turkish border. However, the Syrian regime opposes the plan of creating safe zones in the country, the official said noting that PYD also supports the Syrian regime’s stance on the issue. Azizi describes PYD’s policy as detrimental to the interests of Kurds in Syria, believing that Trump administration will turn its back on PYD. Abdulbasit Saida, the head of the former Syrian National Council, created by the Syrian opposition, told BasNews that the US policy in Syria under Trump will change and more US troops likely to be deployed to actively engage in the fight against IS. He also stated Washington will be working with Masoud Barzani, Kurdistan Region President, on the strategies needed to settle the conflict in Syria.  Roj Peshmerga will return to Rojava and play a vital role in protecting the safe zones in northern Syria, said Saida, adding “Trump will work with Turkey and Barzani to strengthen the US status in Syria.”  www.mesop.de