Mahmoud Barkhadan, a senior SDF commander, told ANHA news outlet on August 1 that “If Peshmerga forces go to the [PKK] guerilla territories and fight them, the SDF will not stay neutral. It is clear whom it will side with.”
Nine days later, Abdi denied being a threat to the SDF neighbors, saying they will remain focused on the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
“We renew our commitment to the D-ISIS mission with our @CJTFOIR partners on this occasion we remind that the SDF is a Syrian force whose duty is to defend the gains of the Syrian people and that the SDF has not and will not be a force that threatens the stability of its neighbors,” tweeted Abdi.
SDF is the main ally of the US-led coalition on the ground and has enjoyed funding and aid from them.
The SDF spokesperson Aram Hanna confirmed to Rudaw English that Abdi means they will not be a threat to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), whose Peshmerga fighters have been in tensions with the PKK for years as well.
Tensions between KDP-affiliated Peshmerga forces and the PKK renewed last year and are ongoing, causing the death of several Peshmerga fighters. Both blame the other for fueling the tensions.
PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara has claimed that the SDF’s dominant force, People’s Protection Units (YPG), is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.
Abdi has previously acknowledged the presence of the PKK fighters in Rojava, saying they had taken part in the liberation of Kurdish areas in Syria but have begun leaving the area.
He has been acting as a guarantor for unity talks between the KDP-affiliated Kurdish National Council (ENKS) and YPG’s political wing, Democratic Union Party (PYD) since late 2019.
Rudaw English asked the US Department of Defense’s spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Anton T. Semelroth about Barkhadan’s threat but he replied, “After discussing your query with our colleagues, we have nothing to offer you on this question.“
