The statement comes as Ankara, a key player in the region, offered military support to the new government, on condition that it eliminates Kurdish separatist organizations it considers terrorists.
The leader of the insurgent coalition that overthrew the government of Bashar al Assad He promised on Sunday to incorporate the Kurds in the new power structure, in an attempt to reduce tensions in a region historically marked by ethnic conflicts.
Ahmed al-Charaa, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, said in a video that the Kurds “they are part of the homeland” and will live together in the new Syria, ensuring that “Everyone will obtain his rights by law”.
“The Kurds are part of the homeland. They were subjected to great injustice, like us, and God willing, injustice will be eliminated. God willing, in the coming Syria, The Kurds will be essential"We will live together, God willing, and everyone will obtain their rights by law. There will be no more injustice from today onwards against our Kurdish people," he said in a video posted on the official account of the Military Operations Command, which is run by Al Charaa.
At the end of the short clip, he is asked: “And our people in Afrin?”, to which Al Charaa replies: “God willing, we will try to return them to their areas and their villages.”
With Afrin refers to the city in northern Syria that in 2018 the Turkish troops, along with Syrian rebels backed by Ankara, Syrian National Army (SNA, in English), occupied in their offensive against the Kurdish Syrians, which run an administration in northern and northeastern Syria.
The rebel leader's statement comes as Türkiye, a key player in the region, offered military support to the new government and reiterated its commitment to combat Kurdish organizations that it considers terrorists.
The political leadership of the self-proclaimed Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES, in English) reiterated yesterday, Saturday, its call for a general ceasefire with the insurgents who overthrew the Al Assad regime and called for working for a “unified democratic” future for the country.
The AANES, enemy of Ankara, controls large areas of the northeast of the Arab country and has been facing pro-Turkish militias that attacked their territories in parallel with the insurgent offensive to overthrow Al Assad, whom they also opposed despite having collaborated with him in emergency situations.
Kurdish Syrians seek to have their autonomous administration coexist with the new interim government formed by insurgents after the fall of the old regime, which had been in power for about half a century and was overthrown last Sunday after a swift offensive by Islamist and pro-Turkish groups.
Türkiye offers military support, but calls for separatists to be eliminated
Meanwhile, Turkish Defense Minister, Yasar Guler, said that his country is “willing to provide the necessary support” to the new transitional government, dominated by the Islamist alliance Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with the condition of eliminating what it calls “terrorist organizations” Kurdish.
Türkiye's top priority in Syria was to rid the country of Kurdish separatist fighters, a goal that was supported by the new government, Guler said.
“In this new period, The PKK/YPG terrorist organization will be eliminated in Syria sooner or later. “Both we and the new Syrian administration want this,” he said.
“We have no problems with our Kurdish brothers living in Iraq and Syria.. “Our problem is solely and exclusively with terrorists.”
The YPG (Syrian Kurdish People's Defense Units) make up the bulk of the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces), a key ally of the United States who defeated the group's self-proclaimed caliphate Islamic State in Syria in 2019.
Ankara sees the YPG as an extension of its domestic nemesis, the PKK. (Kurdistan Workers' Party), which has led a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
By extension, consider the Self-Defense Forces as a terrorist group, which puts them in sharp conflict with Washington, which has described the group as “crucial” to preventing a resurgence of IS jihadists in Syria.
“Our priority (in Syria) is the liquidation of the terrorist organization PKK/YPG“Guler said.
“We have expressed this to our American friends. We hope that they will re-evaluate their positions.”