US backing ensures Arab-Kurd alliance in Syria will survive
Liwa al-Tahrir walking out of its alliance with the Kurdish People's Protection Units caused plenty of excitement in Turkey, but did it really change anything in Syria?
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), which has expanded its operation in northern Syria by sending tanks to al-Rai, needs a win. Just as important, the Turkish government needs a story about how the balances have shifted since the TSK’s intervention and how the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the Kurds are about to disintegrate.
Liwa al-Tahrir (Freedom Brigade) recently split from the SDF and sought refuge with Turkey, where the pro-government media treated the news with their trademark sensationalism: “There is now a growing crisis between Arab elements and the PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] in the SDF. One hundred Liwa al-Tahrir fighters have fled from the PKK’s pressure to fight Turkey. They surrendered to the TSK at the border.”
