Syria’s Kurds, Feeling Betrayed by the U.S., Ask Assad Government for Protection

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Turkish-backed Syrian fighters gathered in the area of Sajur near Manbij on Friday.CreditCreditBakr Alkasem/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By Ben Hubbard

Dec. 28, 2018

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s most powerful Kurdish militia has called on President Bashar al-Assad’s government to send forces to protect it against an attack by Turkey, the first sign of shifting political alliances in eastern Syria since President Trump announced that he would withdraw American troops.

At issue is an expanse of territory in the country’s north and east that the United States, in partnership with local Kurdish-led militias, took from the Islamic State. That put about one-quarter of Syria’s territory, including valuable agricultural land and oil reserves, under the control of those militias backed by the United States and supported by about 2,000 American soldiers.

But the growing clout of Syrian Kurdish fighters angered Turkey, which sees them as a security threat and has vowed to attack them in the near future. Kurdish control of the region is also opposed by the government of Mr. Assad as well as its Russian and Iranian backers, who want the territory to fall back under the control of Damascus.

For the most part, the other powers in Syria’s multisided war have avoided attacking the area for fear of provoking the United States. But Mr. Trump’s surprise announcement last week that he would pull American troops out of Syria cleared the way for a possible scramble by those competing forces to take advantage of the resulting vacuum.

The People’s Protection Units, or Y.P.G., called Friday on the Syrian government to send troops to the city of Manbij to ward off a possible attack by Turkey. The call by the Syrian Kurdish militia was notable in that a United States ally was calling on an enemy of the United States to protect it against another American ally.

The Kurds see Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw troops as a betrayal.

Through their alliance with the United States, Syria’s Kurds gained unprecedented military and political power during the war. As the Islamic State fighters were pushed back, the Kurds often filled the political gap left behind, establishing councils to run local affairs.

Which Groups Have Control in Syria

As of mid-December, the Syrian government holds the central and southern parts of the country.

Turkey

Qamishli

Manbij

Hasaka

KURDISH

Control

Aleppo

Idlib

Raqqa

Rebel

Control

Latakia

Government

Control

Deir al-Zour

Hama

ISIS

Control

ISIS

Control

Homs

Palmyra

Albu Kamal

Syria

lebanon

Damascus

Iraq

Sweida

Dara‘a

Jordan

Turkey

Manbij

Hasaka

KURDISH

Control

Aleppo

Idlib

Raqqa

Rebel

Control

Government

Control

Deir al-Zour

Hama

ISIS

Control

ISIS

Control

Homs

Palmyra

Albu Kamal

lebanon

Syria

Damascus

Iraq

Jordan

Turkey

Manbij

Hasaka

KURDISH

Control

Aleppo

Idlib

Raqqa

Rebel

Control

Deir al-Zour

Government

Control

ISIS

Control

Hama

ISIS

Control

Homs

Palmyra

Albu Kamal

lebanon

Syria

Damascus

Iraq

Jordan

Turkey

KURDISH

Control

Manbij

Aleppo

Raqqa

Rebel

Control

ISIS

Control

ISIS

Control

Government

Control

lebanon

Syria

Iraq

Damascus

Jordan

But aware that the United States could eventually withdraw, they had also begun talks with the Syrian government about reconciling.

Abdulkarim Omar, a foreign relations official with the Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria, said by phone on Friday that the talks continued and that the only issue that had been agreed upon so far was the Syrian army deployment near Manbij after the Americans withdraw.

When asked if that agreement had been coordinated with the United States, he said: “You can ask the Americans.”

But much remains uncertain for the Syrians living in those areas, especially since the two parties to the agreement described it in different ways. The Kurds said that the Syrian army would only take over border areas to protect against a Turkish attack but would not deploy inside the city itself.

But the Syrian army said on Friday that its troops had entered Manbij and hoisted the Syrian flag. The Syrian army made no reference to the Kurds, but spoke instead of ”the complete commitment of the Syrian Army in assuming its responsibilities to impose sovereignty to each inch of the Syrian territories.”

That appeared to leave little room for the Kurds to run their own affairs.

Residents of the city, however, said that Syrian troops had not in fact entered the city. The American-led coalition in Syria also said on Twitter that it had seen “no indication that these claims are true.”

“We call on everyone to respect the integrity of Manbij and the safety of its citizens,” the coalition said.

Follow Ben Hubbard on Twitter: @NYTBen.