Syria’s government faces pockets of unrest in the east and south and it’s in its best interests to keep positive relations with the SDF in Hasakah governate otherwise a Kurdish insurgency is likely to follow, an analyst says. Professor David Des Roches from the Thayer Marshall Institute noted the “only major legitimate export is going to be the oil and gas” in Hasakah to support Damascus’ coffers. “If they want to keep that calm, there needs to be a substantial degree of local control otherwise it’s going to be a governance problem. So the question is how effective [will the government be] at recognizing and implementing their best interests,” Des Roches told Al Jazeera.
Soldiers with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces secure Gweiran Prison in Hasakah governate on Monday [Baderkhan Ahmad/AP]
Status of Hasakah a major sticking point in talks between Syria president, SDF leader
There was a meeting yesterday in Damascus between the commander of the Kurdish-led SDF Mazloum Abdi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. We’ve heard from multiple sources the meeting lasted five hours and afterward Abdi returned to the northeast with neither side releasing an official statement. According to sources, one of the major issues in the meeting concerned the province of Hasakah. Now Hasakah has a majority Kurdish city and an Arab tribal population in the countryside. Hasakah was mentioned in the previous US-brokered ceasefire deal, but there were some ambiguities and its administration was not quite resolved. Now, Abdi apparently asked for the city and the province to be under full SDF control. We’ve heard from sources again that President al-Sharaa refused this and said if it wasn’t implemented under Ministry of Interior forces he would take it by force. Abdi then asked for a five day grace period to discuss the matter, which President al-Sharaa refused. On Telegram the SDF released a statement calling on Kurds in Turkiye, Iran, Iraq and even Europe to join what it called “the resistance” and to unite and push back.
Video shows Syrian forces moving further into Hasakah governate
Syria’s army and allied tribal fighters continue to make inroads into the Kurdish-controlled governate of Hasakah. Al Jazeera footage below shows the moment Syrian forces arrived in and took control of “Area 47” in the Hasakah countryside. The main target of the army is Hasakah city in the far northeast corner of Syria.