Under the watchful eye of neighboring Türkiye, Syria’s post-Assad administration struck a deal with the U.S.-backed terrorist group YPG, an offshoot of the PKK, which killed thousands in Türkiye. Damascus and SDF, the umbrella group in the northeast dominated by the YPG, agreed on a plan for the latter’s integration into the new Syria. Over the weekend, the Syrian army entered a key dam seized by the YPG.
Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler said on Monday that they were monitoring the developments in Syria, particularly the handover process between the new administration and the YPG. Speaking at a video call with commanders of the Turkish army, including units deployed for cross-border operations, Güler stated that Türkiye had already conveyed its expectations and reservations to relevant parties regarding the deal. “We follow a sensitive approach to the process of the PKK terrorist group’s embrace of a rational perspective rather than baseless, fruitless ambitions,” he said. Güler was referring to the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched last year by Devlet Bahçeli, head of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Bahçeli’s call to the PKK to lay down arms found a response, and in February, the jailed leader of the terrorist group, Abdullah Öcalan, urged them to abandon arms and dissolve. The PKK is expected to take further steps to complete its dissolution at a future congress. “This initiative is now in the fair hands of the state and will be sincerely supported. We are monitoring its reflections on the ground. Developments will only become meaningful when they are approached sincerely. Every initiative favoring peace should be supported, but those trying to exploit it, prolong it, or utilize it for their own propaganda will have to confront a resolute Türkiye,” Güler said.
Güler underlined that any statement not backed by action was meaningless for them. Türkiye emphasized that the terrorist group would not be offered anything in return for laying down arms. As a matter of fact, it continued conducting counterterrorism operations against the PKK even as the initiative proceeded. “Elimination of all kinds of terrorism will serve to bring peace in our region and the world. Every structure insisting on not laying down arms, every structure inciting separation will remain our legitimate target. The state’s status on this matter is clear,” Güler said. “We will not allow the process to be sabotaged,” he added.
On Saturday, Syrian state media reported that security forces were deployed around Tishrin Dam in northern Syria, a strategic location which has been the scene of clashes between the Syrian National Army (SNA) and the YPG during and after the fall of the Baathist regime last year. Under a deal with Damascus, the U.S.-backed YPG agreed on a pullout from the dam, which they originally captured from Daesh, another terrorist group, about a decade ago.
The dam near Manbij in Aleppo province is one of several on the Euphrates and its tributaries in Syria that play a key role in the nation’s economy by providing it with water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. Manbij was captured by the SNA recently, along with Tal Rifaat, another key town in the north.
Syria’s state news agency SANA reported “the entry of Syrian Arab Army forces and security forces into the Tishrin Dam … to impose security in the region, under the agreement reached with the SDF.” The accord also calls for a joint military force to protect the dam.
It is part of a broader agreement reached in mid-March between Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and YPG ringleader Ferhat Abdi Şahin, aiming to integrate the YPG into the national government.