MESOP : PYD-KURDS FRUSTRATED – A PROMISE FOR GENEVA – BUT NOT A GUARANTEE FOR EVEN SMALL AUTONOMY – A COMBINED PUTIN/KERRY „NO“!

PYD/PKK Kurds Play Down Talk of Offensive on ISIS’s Raqqa

May 26 – 20016 – REUTERS / MESOP . – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have played down talk of an offensive to recapture the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s center in northern Syria. But SDF spokesman Talal Silo said on Thursday, “The current battle is only to liberate the area north of Raqqa. Currently there is no preparation…to liberate Raqqa, unless as part of a campaign which will come after this campaign has finished,”

Although the Islamic State is under pressure in both northern Syria and neighboring Iraq, with Iraqi forces attacking the city of Fallujah, a push into Raqqa faces political challenges.

Syrian rebels and Turkey are wary of the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish militia YPG. There are concerns about whether the mainly-Arab population of Raqqa — who might not be able to escape the city would welcome the attack, and Kurdish officials have been reluctant in the past to push into Raqqa, preferring offensives against ISIS in Kurdish cantons. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-raqqa-idUSKCN0YG1P1