The Syrian Arab Army will only be deployed along the Turkish-Syria border in order to halt the Turkish offensive, Ehme insisted. Meanwhile, plans are underway for the recapture of Afrin, a Kurdish-majority enclave in Syria’s northwest, captured by the Turkish army in early 2018, he said.
It is now ultimately the responsibility of Damascus to protect the northern border while the self-administration continues to provide public services and security in the Kurdish region, Ehme said.
Rudaw: After the deal you struck with Damascus and Moscow, will the self-administration of Rojava remain?
Luqman Ehme: First of all, we are an integrated part of Syria. It is the Syrian army’s responsibility to protect the borders of Syria. Our agreement with Damascus under the auspices of Russia is for the deployment of the Syrian army along the northern Syria border. As the autonomous administration, we will continue our work as before and there will be no changes being made to it. All we asked for was the deployment of the Syrian army along the northern border in order to halt the occupying Turkish onslaught against our nation. In the beginning we SDF, YPG and PYD did it only to protect our nation. Turkey’s offensive is to eliminate our enclave, exterminate our people and destroy the self-administration autonomy we have established. Therefore, we turned to Damascus to strike a deal with them in order for us to be able to protect our region. It is a military deal. Nothing else has been discussed or agreed on so far with them. Until we sign a final political agreement with Damascus, the self-administration will continue its works in terms of providing services including schools, hospitals, municipality any other thing which we have done in the past, we will maintain it.
You are saying you have struck only a military deal? What is the contest of the deal?
The Syrian Army will only protect the northern borders of Syria. The Syrian Army together with the SDF will protect the region stretching from Derik all the way to Sari Kani, and from Gre Spi and Manbij. Efforts are also underway for the Syrian Army to protect Afrin as well once it has been liberated from Turkey. At the end, the Syrian Army will carry its national responsibility to protect the borders of Syria.
Other than borders, who is going to be in control of other places?
As I earlier said, what we have agreed on with Damascus is to allow the Syrian Army to return to the region to protect the country’s borders from Turkey’s invasion.
What about oilfields?
Other than the border areas, the Syrian Army will not enter any other place. The Syrian Army is moving to the Syria-Turkey border areas. I am saying it again that the self-administration will maintain its authorities as before, also in terms of providing security to the city centers.
Upon entering the region, the Syrian Army reportedly said it will not allow any military force to remain in the region. And SDF commander Mazlum Kobani says they don’t know who to trust. Do you think the Kurdish nation in Rojava will be stripped of its rights?
What the SDF and our self-administration have done has been to make sure that the rights of our nation are provided. And within this framework we worked to ensure the rights of our Kurdish nation and others living in northeastern Syria including Assyrians, Syriacs, and Arabs. We provided them their ethnic and democratic rights. And our autonomy was created on these foundations. That is why we did not abandon our nation after we witnessed the Turkish offensive. We will not let our nation be left in limbo to be annihilated. Thus, we struck the agreement with Damascus.
Are American forces still in the region? Do they have any plans to withdraw?
They receive orders from their country to withdraw or leave the region. I predict they will withdraw 30 to 50 kilometers from the Turkish border for their own security.
There are rumors that SDF will become Division 5 within the Syrian Army. Is that true?
I would like to make one thing clear. The SDF’s structure will remain as such.
As fighting is ongoing near Sari Kani and Gire Spi, what is the latest update on the ground?
What we know so far is that Sari Kani is under the control of the SDF. Fighting is ongoing around Gire Spi.
What is your message to the people of Rojava?
We are telling our nation that the return of the Syrian Army is not a military attack or to put people in jail. They have come only to protect the borders. They will remain there and our autonomous authorities will handle other matters as they have done it in the past.
Translation by Zhelwan Z. Wali
