Syrian Kurds say Raqqa offensive will start in early April

Syrian Kurds say Raqqa offensive will start in early April

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Editorial Staff in Kurdistan
Kurdish YPJ female fighters in Syrian Kurdistan
Kurdish YPJ/YPG female fighters in Syrian Kurdistan. Photo: YPG/SM

QAMISHLO, Syrian Kurdistan,— The leader of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia of Syrian Kurdistan, Sipan Hemo, announced that the US-backed attack on Islamic State’s stronghold in Raqqa will start early in April. US officials, on the other hand, have made no such announcements.

Hemo made a rare on-camera appearance in announcing that the Kurds were looking forward to the upcoming offensive on Raqqa, Islamic State Daesh’s so-called capital in Syria. Hemo expects the offensive to begin early next month.

“Regarding the decision to liberate Raqqa and storm it, the matter is decided and at the start of the month of April the military operation will begin,” he told Reuters.

“We believe that liberating Raqqa will not take more than a number of weeks,” he added.

Raqqa is currently encircled by the Russia-backed Syrian army on the west and the south and by Kurdish forces in the north.

Hemo’s statement does not correspond with the message from Washington, DC.

According to Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, US officials “have not made any decisions on how and when we will move in for the liberation of Raqqa.”

Davis also refused to make any assessments as to how long this offensive might take. When asked about Hemo’s estimation of “few weeks,” Davis pointed out that Daesh had more than enough time to turn the city into a fortress, rigged with all kinds of traps, explosives and other forms of makeshift urban guerilla warfare.

“All of these things await whoever moves in to ultimately liberate Raqqa. And if you compare it to other similar-sized cities in Iraq, you’ve seen that these things do tend to take a bit more time than that,” he said, most likely referring to the troubled offensive on Mosul.

Hemo’s statement could be seen as an attempt to push the US, forcing their hand on the offensive, as American determination to become more involved in Syria has visibly diminished recently, for a number of reasons.

On March 16th, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu observed that “there are different stances within the US administration” on the matter of military cooperation with the YPG.

“Right now, they do not have a clear stance on this. They are going through a transition period,” he noted.

Turkey itself has long opposed empowering the Kurds, and the Kurdish question threatens to split the US-led NATO coalition and the US and Turkey in particular. While Kurds have proven to be very effective fighters, Turkey sees the YPG as a threat to its own territorial integrity. The US must now balance maintaining its international friendships and actually winning the war.

Turkey fears the creation of an autonomous Kurdish region in Syrian Kurdistan — similar to the Kurdish region in Iraqi Kurdistan — would spur the separatist ambitions of Turkey’s own Kurds.

Syrian Kurdistan’s ruling PYD has established three autonomous zones, or Cantons of Jazeera, Kobani and Afrin and a Kurdish government across Syrian Kurdistan in 2013. On March 17, 2016 Syria’s Kurds declared a federal region in Syrian Kurdistan. On Dec. 30, 2016 Syrian Kurds approved a blueprint for a system of federal government in Syrian Kurdistan, reaffirming their plans for autonomy in areas they have controlled during the civil war.

U.S regards the Kurdish PYD party and its powerful military wing YPG of Syrian Kurdistan as key ally against Islamic State and the most effective fighting force against IS in Syria and has provided them with arms, air support as well as the military advisers. The Kurdish militia has seized swathes of Syria from IS.

In the meantime, the Russia-backed Syrian army has mastered the “lightning advance through Daesh-held areas,” according to Reuters. The report notes that while Kurds are at odds with Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, their differences are not irreconcilable. Perhaps the best outcome for the US would be for the Syrian army and the Kurds to Daesh in Raqqa on their own, while Washington peacefully secures its alliance with Ankara… by doing nothing.

http://ekurd.net/kurds-raqqa-offensive-april-2017-03-18