Skip to main content

Syrian Kurds Reject SNC, Al-Qaeda

Syrian Kurds prefer to keep their options open for autonomy in northern Syria.
Syrian Kurdish children with luggage wait to cross into Iraqi territory outside the Peshabur border gate at the Syrian-Iraq border near the Dohuk province, February 2, 2013. Kurds on either side of the river Tigris that runs between Syria and Iraq are linked by kinship, a history of oppression and now by fuel lines and boats ferrying food and medical aid across the waters that divide them. Picture taken February 2, 2013. To match story SYRIA-KURDS/AID            REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS

Fighting erupted on July 17 between jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda and Kurdish fighters close to the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the province of Hassakeh in northern Syria. The fighting was sparked by an incident at a checkpoint of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jahbat al-Nusra in the mixed city of Ras al-Ain, where Arabs, Kurds, and Christians live, close to the Turkish border. The fighting was still taking place today, July 22.

It was most likely sparked by the fact that the Democratic Union Party (PYD) wants to form an interim government, while al-Qaeda affiliates such as Jahbat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham (ISIS) want to form an Islamic emirate in Syria. After fighting several groups such as Jahbat al-Nusra, ISIS and Harakat, Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiya — the leading faction of the Syrian Islamic Front — declared an operation to seize the oil-rich town of Rumeylan in Hassakeh province from the PYD.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.