MESOP : WILL KURDS STAY – OR GIVE IT BACK ?

Syria Daily: Facing ISIS Offensive, Rebels Hand Over Village in Northwest to Kurdish-Led Force

May 29 – by Scott Lucas – eaworldview – Facing an Islamic State offensive, rebels have handed over a village in northwest Syria to a Kurdish-led force, according to multiple reports from activists.Free Syrian Army units were said to have turned over control of Sheikh Issa in northern Aleppo Province to the Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday, as rebels battled ISIS on the outskirts.

Sheikh Issa has a population of about 6,000. It is to the west of the town of Mare’, the battlefront for more than two years which was cut off by a rapid ISIS advance on Friday.While rebels reportedly regained a few villages after their Friday losses, Mare’ is still separated from the key town of Azaz near the Turkish border.

Rebels in northern Aleppo have also lost territory to the Kurdish militia YPG, which leads the SDF. The YPG — hoping to connect the Afrin canton in northwest Syria with the Jazira and Kobane cantons in the northeast — captured towns such as Deir Jamal and Tal Rifaat, which is to the west of Shiekh Issa. Some pro-opposition activists claimed that the YPG were taking advantage of the Islamic State attacks to seize more territory. However, the deal over control of Sheikh Issa appeared to have been agreed by both the FSA and the SDF after discussions throughout Saturday.

Some reports say Jaish al-Thuwar, a dissident rebel faction which allied with the YPG last year, now holds the town. www.mesop.de