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Syrian Kurds Beset by Divisions

Syrian Kurds are resisting efforts by Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani to exert influence over their movement.  
A Kurdish female fighter from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) carries a walkie-talkie as she stands near fellow fighters carrying their weapons and using binoculars in the Kurdish town of Ifrin, in Aleppo's countryside October 14, 2013. Kurds comprise around 10 percent of Syria's 23 million population. They are concentrated in Ifrin and other areas of the northwest, in parts of Damascus and in the northeastern oil producing area of Qamishli, where there has also been intense fighting between Kurds and al

RAS AL-AIN, Syria — After discussions and debates over more than 10 months, four Kurdish political parties backed by Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, decided to unite one week ago into a single party under the banner of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDP-S), currently led by Abdulhakim Bashar. The four parties are: the Freedom Party (led by Mustafa Cumma), Freedom Party (led by Mustafa Osso), Kurdistani United Party (Abdulbasit Hemo), and  KDP-S. The Democratic Union Party (PYD), backed by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), however, remains the strongest Kurdish organization on the ground.

The Syrian Kurdish parties are sharply divided into several blocs. As indicated above, among them are those backed by or close to Barzani, who also heads the powerful Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which recently won legislative elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, taking 38 of 111 seats.

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