ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) reached a deal with local tribesmen in the city of Manbij on Wednesday to temporarily suspend forced conscription in the city, following days of deadly protests against it, the Manbij Military Council (MMC) announced.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in Manbij on Monday, protesting forced conscription of young men and the dire economic condition in the city. When a young protester was shot dead during the demonstration, more people came to the streets, attacking the checkpoints of security forces. Five others were killed on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
The MMC and local tribesmen met on Wednesday to resolve the issue, reaching a deal to suspend the forced conscription, release detained protestors and form a committee “to investigate the circumstances in which the shooting took place and to hold everyone involved in it accountable,” read a joint statement from both sides.
Shervan Darwesh, spokesperson for the MMC, told Rudaw late Wednesday the conscription in Manbij is not new but dates back three years, blaming the Syrian regime for trying to create chaos in the city. He claimed the first protester was killed by the Syrian government.
Darwesh said conscription, which has existed in northeast Syria for six years, had never caused issues in the past.
“But this time it has been mixed with the current situation [in Manbij] by some parties,” the spokesperson said, referring to the economic crisis in the city. All of Syria suffers from an economic crisis after years of civil war. US sanctions against the country have worsened the crisis.
Darwesh claimed the Syrian regime was behind the recent protests, adding “this is related to the autonomous administration or the SDC’s decision to prevent Syrian elections here.”
“I see this [the protests] as a message from them [the Syrian regime]. They want to create chaos in order to retaliate,” he stated.
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), which is the political arm of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and administers Rojava, said last week it would not allow the Syrian government to set up polling boxes for the May 26 presidential election in areas under its control.
Despite several attempts, Kurdish officials have failed to reach a lasting deal with the Syrian government on military and political issues. Although they have limited coordination in areas bordering Turkey, they are not on good terms in most issues. Damascus has openly said that it wants to reestablish control of all areas the Syrian regime lost to armed forces after the 2011 uprising, including Rojava. Kurds have refused this.
Darwesh said Turkey also wants to create chaos in Manbij, a strategic city located near a junction of three separate forces: the Syrian government, Turkey-backed forces and Kurdish forces.
“Manbij is politically and militarily important because it is a triangle which connects three regions. It also has a trade significance as we have a border crossing with the regime and one with Turkish mercenaries there,” said the spokesperson.
Darwesh said that during the Wednesday meeting with tribesmen, they also discussed preventing Syria and Turkey from intervening in the affairs of the city, adding Rojava’s autonomous administration will make the final decision on conscription later.
Reuters has reported eight deaths in the two-day protests in the Arab-majority city.
Manbij was liberated by the SDF from the Islamic State (ISIS) nearly five years ago. The SDF later formed the MMC to take care of the security of the city.
Additional reporting by Dilbixwin Dara
