Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (left) and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi (right). Photos: SANA/AFP. Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior delegation from northeast Syria (Rojava), headed by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) chief Mazloum Abdi, on Tuesday arrived in Damascus to meet with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Shaara amid escalating tensions between both sides. Senior American officials are also attending the meeting, a Kurdish official told Rudaw.
The Rojava delegation also includes Elham Ahmed, foreign relations co-chair of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), and Rohilat Afrin, commander of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), the source told Rudaw on the condition of anonymity.
US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack and Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), are also attending the meeting.
SDF-affiliated media also reported the arrival of the Kurdish delegation in the Syrian capital without acknowledging US involvement.
The Syrian government has yet to comment on the meeting.
Barrack and Cooper visited Rojava on Monday, meeting with Abdi. The talks focused on accelerating the implementation of the March integration agreement between Rojava and Damascus.
Hours later, state-affiliated forces attacked the Kurdish neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafieh in Aleppo city. After hours of deadly clashes, both sides reached a ceasefire early Tuesday.
Hevi Sulaimani, a senior Kurdish official from both neighborhoods, told Rudaw that the meeting was requested by Damascus, adding that they will demand an end to the current embargo on the neighborhoods.
She also blamed Damascus for trying to control the neighborhoods and carry out massacres against Kurds - “just like what they did in the coastal areas and Suwayda.”
State-affiliated forces carried out mass killings of Alawites in the coastal west and Druze in the south. While Damascus has acknowledged some violations, it has done little to hold the perpetrators accountable - some of whom reportedly do not answer to the interim government.
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