12 October 2015•Update: 14 October 2015
ANKARA
Groups linked to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the terrorist PKK organization’s affiliate in Syria, have joined forces under the name of the “Syrian Democratic Forces”, according to a spokesman for the YPG, the PYD’s armed wing.
On Monday, YPG spokesman Polat Can announced on his Twitter account that the Syrian Arab Coalition (which includes the Jaysh al-Thuwwar, the Burkan al-Firat Operations Center, the Al-Sanadid Forces and the Brigade Groups of Al-Jazeera), along with the Assyrian Military Council, the YPG and the YPJ (the YPG’s female wing), would all join forces under the name of the “Syrian Democratic Forces”.
“Due to the accelerated conditions in both the political and the military [spheres] and the sensitive phases our country has gone through, there must be an establishment of a unified national military force to all Syrians, consisting of Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians and all others living in the geographical locations of Syria,” Can tweeted.
“The Syrian Democratic Force is to launch a self-governing Syria,” he added. “Relishing under the shadow of this force is the Syrian people, who would be willing to live in freedom, impartiality and dignity with inclusiveness to all for obtaining their legitimate rights.”
He added: “And on this basis, the [aforementioned] military groups have declared [their intention] to establish the Syrian Democratic Forces.”
'Train-and-equip' failure
Notably, the announcement comes after recent statements by U.S. President Barack Obama in which he admitted the failure of Washington’s “train-and-equip” program, which had sought to bolster the capacities of “moderate” groups in Syria fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
“We will look for some other way to develop this program after coordinating with certain Kurdish groups,” Obama said at the White House on Oct. 3.
According to a report published the following day in the New York Times, Obama’s new approach to the Syria crisis relies on Arab fighters whose commanders had been screened by U.S. forces, along with “Kurdish fighters who are more battle-tested and whose loyalties Washington can count on”.
After withdrawing from Washington’s train-and-equip program, the Jaysh al-Thuwwar (“Army of Rebels”) -- part of the “Syrian Democratic Forces” -- joined the PYD in the northern Syrian cities of Afrin and Kobane.
The Al-Sanadid and Al-Jazeera brigades, meanwhile, have recently fought the Daesh militant group alongside both the PYD and Syrian regime forces.
Burkan al-Firat, for its part, recently formed an alliance with the PYD in both Tal-Abyad and Kobane, while the Assyrian Military Forces have been fighting alongside the YPG.
In June, the PYD -- with the support of U.S.-led coalition airpower -- regained full control of Tal Abyad after having lost it earlier to Daesh.
