Syria's FM Faisal Mekdad warns Kurdish militias to stop allying with US

Hours after US President Joe Biden announced the continuance of the emergency related to Syria, the country's foreign minister Faisal Mekdad issued a warning to Kurdish militias asking them to stop working for the Pentagon. In a televised interview, Mekdad threatened actions against Kurdish militias, who he accused of working as American agents, in the northeastern part of the country.

Colloquially known as Rojava, northeastern Syria is governed autonomously. Despite a withdrawal order issued by former US President Donald Trump, American troops continue to operate in the region in alliance with Kurdish rebels. On Thursday, Faisal Mekdad asked the US to pull out all its troops from the region asserting that Syrian troops would eventually go there and oust them. 

Emphasizing his point further, he said that the Syrian army will not abandon any part of the country, including the northeast. Warning the Kurds, he said they must realise that the “future is for Syria and such forces should stop working for foreign powers against their own country”. Furthermore, he also asked the Turkish military, which has continued its presence in the region since 2019, to withdraw.

What is happening in Syria?

While the Syrian civil war ended in 2019, the northwestern part of the country which includes the Governorate of Idlib and parts of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia- continue to remain under rebels. The Syrian civil war commenced in 2011 after the country's president Bashar Hafez Al-Assad tried to suppress opposition to his authoritarian rule. While armed fighting has now ended, the government and militias continue to engage in a war of nerves and occasional assaults. With the coronavirus contagion wreaking havoc, the Syrian economy has plunged manifold, with roughly 80 per cent of the population living under the poverty line. The pandemic has posed a challenging situation for countries all across the globe; however, for Syria, it has been a significant challenge with its economy and health care sector crippling due to the decade-long war-like situation.

Image: AP