Kurds on the Edge. Again.
As Syrian government forces advance, regional bargains and shifting alliances have left Syria’s Kurds exposed once more.
A scenario long feared is now beginning to unfold.
Syrian government troops advances deeper into areas held by Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria on Tuesday, pressing rapid gains against Kurdish fighters who vowed to defend their remaining enclaves.
A brief ceasefire has been declared, meant to allow the Kurds to hand control of Hasakah to government forces — or else.
How did we end up in this grim situation?
The Syrian Army, whatever it consists of, has moved to push Kurdish forces east of the Euphrates, forcing the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by the Kurds, to relinquish control first over the Kurdish neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in Aleppo and then over the Arab-majority cities of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. Before advancing militarily, the Syrian president made a ca…
